STEEL BLOSSOMS
2019 - Billy Jam Records
It is rare that I can become engrossed in an album that contains beautiful, catchy melodies and stunningly beautiful female vocals; often (but not always!) believing that is the sort of thing the Nashville music machine churns out on a regular basis. I had no foreknowledge of the Steel Blossoms or their music but looked at the track list and discovered an intriguing list of song titles such as You're the reason I drink, Revenge, You ain't sleeping over, Heroine and Killed a man, more than enough to at least get me to listen once. I was quite expecting that after that one listen to be impressed by the formulaic sounds and move on to something with a 'bit of an edge.' How wrong can you be?! Lyrically this is one of the most incredible albums I have heard; Ever! When you add the beautiful melodies, expert arrangements, tremendous playing by all concerned and the stunningly beautiful lead and harmony vocals of these two young women I cringe at the thought of my preconceptions, although I do give myself a pat on the back for investigating the song titles!
This recording couldn't be further from the often sugar coated, formulaic, girl meets boy, boy dumps girl, girl cries in her beer dramas, (reverse for male duos) that I was expecting but it does contain a sense of deep, almost foreboding drama that whilst sounding stunningly beautiful leaves no doubt that all sugar has been removed, always assuming it was ever there in the first place. It is not contrived but is totally natural from these two talented young ladies for whom, on the strength of this tremendous recording a rosy future beckons. Even those stories that are not rooted in deep darkness have a hard edge and often tell of a life if not of poverty, certainly based on the real world inhabited by the less than privileged. It's difficult to conceive how an album can contain such beauty and so much sadness but these two hugely talented young women have managed it
None of the arrangements are overdone, the instrumentation never being overwhelming and there is none of that Nashville over production so beloved of the mainstream, despite the fact that they live and work in Nashville. Surely this album is proof that elaborate orchestration is completely unnecessary in 'country music.'
Often albums create the feeling of pushing towards an extreme but I can't think of any modern album that manages to root itself in two extremes that are complete opposites and can quite literally be described as beauty and the beast, the beauty being the melodies and the stunningly beautiful vocals and the beast fairly obviously being these thematically dark tales that have their roots in real life, perhaps in some cases extremes of real life, but that is the feeling any listener will get on listening to this stunner of an album.
The album opens with a gentle easy going acoustic guitar intro and some equally gentle percussion on You're the reason I drink, leading to the beautiful vocals that are soon joined by a weeping steel guitar and occasional fiddle on a mid tempo love gone wrong song on which her best friend is now 'Jack Daniels!' Whilst the song has an easy laid back sound and the lovely feminine vocals, the depth of the lyrics speak about a serious problem, providing an incredible contrast with the aforementioned beauty. A mournful fiddle opens Revenge, soon joined by a chiming melodic guitar before the beautiful vocals come in on a quite harrowing 'murder ballad' on which the victim narrates the story as she haunts her killer. It is not just a 'simple' tale of murder but tells of the physical abuse she suffered before her murder whilst still trying to be a good wife and love her husband. I can imagine anyone listening without taking in the lyrics will see this as a beautiful ballad but it's difficult to imagine a more haunting, harrowing tale as she haunts the man who killed her on this tale that literally defines the 'murder ballad genre.' A nice slide and acoustic guitar opens County line, an incredibly sad tale made the more so by the beauty of the vocals and the power of the story that tells of great riches compared to grinding poverty either side of 'the county line.' In actual fact much of this album deals with the advantages that some of the privileged have and take, compared to the abuse, poverty and suffering of the underprivileged. A mellow harmonica sound adds a little colour and diversity to the song, but really this would be a great song even without any instrumentation! Ultimately the story would make a great movie! OnYou ain't sleeping over a hard driving fiddle and twangy guitar propel a song that is explained by the title and tells of someone whose patience with her lover has run out! The solid percussion and bass provide a perfect foundation for the twangy guitar and steel on a story that is probably played out the world over. In some ways it sums up this tremendous recording and the reality of the characters and stories and in many ways is a modernization of Loretta Lynn's Don't come home a-drinkin' (with lovin' on your mind). Finally, Heroine is a beautiful ballad with lovely melodic acoustic guitar supporting the gorgeous vocals on another incredibly harrowing tale, this one telling the story of heroin addiction. It is another beautifully descriptive tale that pulls no punches, with the harrowing elements being magnified by the sheer beauty of the vocals on an extraordinary composition.
Some songs are dark, made the more so by the sheer beauty of the vocals. Darkness and light, Beauty and the beast; it's all here on this absolutely stunning recording that thematically explores extremes and many of the points in between. I'm still, after numerous playing sessions, trying to assimilate just how any album can explore such extremes. Those vocals and the melodies seem to get better and the lyrics ever harder hitting with every one of the numerous listening sessions to this great album!
https://steelblossoms.com/
Footnote: I've just realised that I got so carried away by the quality of this album that I didn't even mention the names of these two hugely talented young women! They are Sara Zebley on fiddle, guitar and vocal harmonies and Hayley Prosser on vocals and guitar.
It is rare that I can become engrossed in an album that contains beautiful, catchy melodies and stunningly beautiful female vocals; often (but not always!) believing that is the sort of thing the Nashville music machine churns out on a regular basis. I had no foreknowledge of the Steel Blossoms or their music but looked at the track list and discovered an intriguing list of song titles such as You're the reason I drink, Revenge, You ain't sleeping over, Heroine and Killed a man, more than enough to at least get me to listen once. I was quite expecting that after that one listen to be impressed by the formulaic sounds and move on to something with a 'bit of an edge.' How wrong can you be?! Lyrically this is one of the most incredible albums I have heard; Ever! When you add the beautiful melodies, expert arrangements, tremendous playing by all concerned and the stunningly beautiful lead and harmony vocals of these two young women I cringe at the thought of my preconceptions, although I do give myself a pat on the back for investigating the song titles!
This recording couldn't be further from the often sugar coated, formulaic, girl meets boy, boy dumps girl, girl cries in her beer dramas, (reverse for male duos) that I was expecting but it does contain a sense of deep, almost foreboding drama that whilst sounding stunningly beautiful leaves no doubt that all sugar has been removed, always assuming it was ever there in the first place. It is not contrived but is totally natural from these two talented young ladies for whom, on the strength of this tremendous recording a rosy future beckons. Even those stories that are not rooted in deep darkness have a hard edge and often tell of a life if not of poverty, certainly based on the real world inhabited by the less than privileged. It's difficult to conceive how an album can contain such beauty and so much sadness but these two hugely talented young women have managed it
None of the arrangements are overdone, the instrumentation never being overwhelming and there is none of that Nashville over production so beloved of the mainstream, despite the fact that they live and work in Nashville. Surely this album is proof that elaborate orchestration is completely unnecessary in 'country music.'
Often albums create the feeling of pushing towards an extreme but I can't think of any modern album that manages to root itself in two extremes that are complete opposites and can quite literally be described as beauty and the beast, the beauty being the melodies and the stunningly beautiful vocals and the beast fairly obviously being these thematically dark tales that have their roots in real life, perhaps in some cases extremes of real life, but that is the feeling any listener will get on listening to this stunner of an album.
The album opens with a gentle easy going acoustic guitar intro and some equally gentle percussion on You're the reason I drink, leading to the beautiful vocals that are soon joined by a weeping steel guitar and occasional fiddle on a mid tempo love gone wrong song on which her best friend is now 'Jack Daniels!' Whilst the song has an easy laid back sound and the lovely feminine vocals, the depth of the lyrics speak about a serious problem, providing an incredible contrast with the aforementioned beauty. A mournful fiddle opens Revenge, soon joined by a chiming melodic guitar before the beautiful vocals come in on a quite harrowing 'murder ballad' on which the victim narrates the story as she haunts her killer. It is not just a 'simple' tale of murder but tells of the physical abuse she suffered before her murder whilst still trying to be a good wife and love her husband. I can imagine anyone listening without taking in the lyrics will see this as a beautiful ballad but it's difficult to imagine a more haunting, harrowing tale as she haunts the man who killed her on this tale that literally defines the 'murder ballad genre.' A nice slide and acoustic guitar opens County line, an incredibly sad tale made the more so by the beauty of the vocals and the power of the story that tells of great riches compared to grinding poverty either side of 'the county line.' In actual fact much of this album deals with the advantages that some of the privileged have and take, compared to the abuse, poverty and suffering of the underprivileged. A mellow harmonica sound adds a little colour and diversity to the song, but really this would be a great song even without any instrumentation! Ultimately the story would make a great movie! OnYou ain't sleeping over a hard driving fiddle and twangy guitar propel a song that is explained by the title and tells of someone whose patience with her lover has run out! The solid percussion and bass provide a perfect foundation for the twangy guitar and steel on a story that is probably played out the world over. In some ways it sums up this tremendous recording and the reality of the characters and stories and in many ways is a modernization of Loretta Lynn's Don't come home a-drinkin' (with lovin' on your mind). Finally, Heroine is a beautiful ballad with lovely melodic acoustic guitar supporting the gorgeous vocals on another incredibly harrowing tale, this one telling the story of heroin addiction. It is another beautifully descriptive tale that pulls no punches, with the harrowing elements being magnified by the sheer beauty of the vocals on an extraordinary composition.
Some songs are dark, made the more so by the sheer beauty of the vocals. Darkness and light, Beauty and the beast; it's all here on this absolutely stunning recording that thematically explores extremes and many of the points in between. I'm still, after numerous playing sessions, trying to assimilate just how any album can explore such extremes. Those vocals and the melodies seem to get better and the lyrics ever harder hitting with every one of the numerous listening sessions to this great album!
https://steelblossoms.com/
Footnote: I've just realised that I got so carried away by the quality of this album that I didn't even mention the names of these two hugely talented young women! They are Sara Zebley on fiddle, guitar and vocal harmonies and Hayley Prosser on vocals and guitar.