Ashley Monroe – Tennessee Lightning
This showcase gets off to a fairly progressive & mystical start with “I’m Gonna Run,” which sets the mood for the collection. Ashley is Emmylou Harris with Kate Bush genes. There’s plenty of country intonation to her voice, but the music traverses an intense, well-arranged formula & conjures more than just harmony & grits (play on words). Patty Griffin does a similar turn on some of her LPs. I like it.
There are 17 strikes of thunder on this Tennessee Lightning (Dropped Aug 8/Mountainrose Sparrows) showcase by the 3-time Grammy-nominated Ashley Monroe. It’s her 6th studio LP produced by Ms. Monroe with Grammy-winning producer Gina Johnson. The production quality has atmosphere & presence with plenty of formidable appearances (T. Bone Burnett, Marty Stuart, Butch Walker, among others).
The lyrics are not cliché-heavy; the music applies to the themes sung & there’s a dose of sincerity in every performance. “The Touch,” with Marty Stuart (electric & acoustic guitars), is a slow number, but it has musical emollients with a poignant tone. With a wonderful signature sound to her singing that is instantly endearing, Ashley (vocals/keys/guitar/acoustic guitar/synth & sub bass/mellotron/rubber bridge guitar/bgv) has a convincing range that’s just enough to impress & not intrude on her work.
The LP is Ashley’s rejuvenation since being seriously ill. I’ve commented in the past that many great blues singers of the past were great because they “lived” their songs. This is where pop music suffers. Ashley’s music has teeth because she’s lived it & when it returned to her pores, it was evident that she was feeling the music & not what ailed her. A refreshing return to form, creatively if not psychologically.
“Magnolia” has the same humid, swampy sustenance that made Bobbie Gentry’s “Mississippi Delta” so raw & dynamic in 1967. “Hot Rod Pipe Dream” would be a great Beach Boys song with Ashley on lead vocals. The set has a well-chosen Leonard Cohen cover & it shows how fine Ashley can interpret another artist’s music. An album that’s a little hefty with 17 numbers — but the majority are well-conceived. In poker, one winning hand would be a full house. This is a full house.
Highlights – “I’m Gonna Run,” “Risen Road,” “Closer,” “The Touch,” “Magnolia,” “Hot Rod Pipe Dream,” “Recover,” & “There You Are.”
Musicians – T. Bone Burnett, Butch Walker, Sam Hunter, Jedd Hughes & Andrew Petroff (guitar/acoustic guitar), Joe Ginsberg (guitar/acoustic guitar/synth), Brendan Benson (bass/guitar/keys/mellotron/univox/bgv), Anthony da Costa (acoustic guitar), Brian Allen, Shelby Lynne & Andrew Petroff (bass), Chris Powell, Fred Eltringham & Matt Musty (drums/percussion), Justin Schipper & Andrew Petroff (pedal steel), Eleonore Denig (strings), Gena Johnson (programming/percussion), Mike Webb (keys/synth/piano), Billy Justineau (organ), Waylon Payne, Meg McRee, & Brittany Spencer (bgv), Carter Faith & Armand Hutton (bgv/lead vocal), Karen Fairchild, Andrew Petroff & Ashley Ray (vocals).
Color image courtesy of Erika Rock. CD @ Apple & https://www.ashleymonroe.com/
