Victoria Bailey – Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline – Rock Ridge Music
These kinds of CDs make me apprehensive because it’s a dangerous ledge to walk when you try to recapture a legendary era in country music. The George Jones’, Patsy Clines, Hank Snows, Ray Price’s, Loretta Lynn’s, Kitty Wells’, & Tammy Wynette’s, to name a few.
But Victoria Bailey (guitar & vocal) is something else. She captures the magic of Bakersfield, CA country without sounding retro but possessed with a dynamic genuine country vintage tone. There’s no imitation here or emulating. There is learning the lesson & applying it exceptionally well.
Victoria’s recording is so technically modernized she infuses the old school music walls with a fresh coat of paint. Victoria embodies her genre with no imitation, frills, or silliness. There’s nothing but a powerful & colorful soprano.
I’m not a big fan of this country music, but this so well produced, performed, written & initiated that it’s hard to put down. It’s like not liking liver & onions but the way a professional prepares it you don’t even know you’ve eaten liver until you finished your second plate.
If it weren’t for the fact that all 9 cuts are delicious, I’d dismiss this as a young woman who sings the music she admires & does it well. But that’s it.
But that’s not it.
This is authentic stuff. This would’ve raised the eyebrows of all those dead country legends including Patsy. Maybe we should ask Brenda Lee. Or maybe just trust our own ears.
“Spent My Dime on White Wine,”is how Ms. Bailey blows the dust off the past for today’s consumption.
Produced by Jeremy Long (pedal steel/keys/guitar), Victoria polishes her California classic country honky-tonk to a high gloss. She has grit mixed with personality, fluency in her musicality, she’s expressive & imaginative. What’s not to like here? She could sing with Roy Clark & Bonnie Raitt, a duet with Guy Clark.
Her singing acrobatics is evident on “Homegrown Roots,” & the musicians rollick hard. The country charm seeps like cream between layers of cake. There’s nothing pretentious about Ms. Bailey – it’s just well-written lyrics & music with no additives. Sawdust thick, whiskey-smooth, & her showcase is smart & magnetic.
9-hot cuts drop Sept 18 — from Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline (Rock Ridge Music) – spans love at first sight, heartache, resilience when chasing one’s dreams & all with no novelty swipes, just lady-like musical muscle. On “Outlaws,” she charges the solos by calling out the names of her musicians to take their spot. An energetic chestnut.
Victoria strips away her country twang on the powerful closer “Travelin’ Kind” without losing any savviness. The LP features wonderful playing by Eric Roebuck (lead guitar), Ian Foreman (drums), Billy Mohler (bass), Phillip Glenn (fiddle/mandolin), Elijah Peters (harmonica), & with Elizabeth Chavez/Cole Syverson – string arrangements/performance.
The 35-minute CD is available at Amazon. Website: https://www.rockridgemusic.com/victoria-bailey-mgmt