British country-soul singer Yola Carter released her debut back in February of this year. The buzz was loud, but quite frankly, I was put off a bit because of Dan Auerbach, who co-wrote and produced the set. I loved what he did with Dr. John but really was turned off by what happened with The Pretenders record. He also produced Shannon Shaw's record, "Shannon In Nashville," which I really dug and said so over here, but wasn't too excited at the prospect of yet another retro-soul singer. There's plenty of authentic soul singers out there, one of the deepest rat holes of back catalogue and one of the most fun to excavate.
I finally gave in, partly out of desperation. So far, 2019 is not killing me. I wanted to listen to something other than old Prince Buster records or The Who Sell Out, just for a day.
"Walk Through Fire" is good! And not what I expected at all. You can't judge an album by its cover...anymore. Her voice is powerful, without over doing it. The songs lean more towards country than soul. And quite frankly, it was a breath of fresh air. Check out two of my faves.
7 comments:
Right on! I have fun listening to this album.
I wasn't overwhelmed but did enjoy the album. I like Dan Auerbach but I agree with your assessment of the job he did with the Pretenders. He's subdued but very effective on this record.
read about her album in MOJO magazine, and couldn't agree with you more. what a find.
I thought it was just me that was underwhelmed with 2019 releases!. I usually make recommendations to some friends at the end of June for my "best of the first half of 2019", but I'm coming up fairly empty this year so far. A lot of pleasant stuff, but nothing setting my world on fire. I need to revisit what came out this year at some point, but I'm not sure I want to...
Like the two selections a lot. Are there any uptempo tracks on the album?
Captain Al
I heard "Love All Night" recently and liked it but didn't catch the singer's name, thanks for the tip. I'd swear that was a Frankie Miller cover! I looked it up, but it can't be if Auerbach co-wrote it. Both these songs remind me of him, it must be her lower register. Now I'm thinking they's be a great duo.
I saw her live in Birmingham (UK) last week and I liked it even better than on the record...
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