Rosy Nolan Main Attraction
At first listen, you’d think you were listening to a vintage radio hour somewhere down in Nashville, 1955. “Dead On the Vine” has a twangy steel guitar, sawdust fiddle & Rosy Nolan’s old-fashioned country vocal veneer that reminds one of why nothing’s lost on the charm of traditional country singing. Rosy then polishes her Dolly Parton tone, applies some mandolin & fiddle to “How It Feels To Fall In Love.”
So, what makes these vintage melodies & voice so aurally splendid? Rosy probably sings while she smiles & that comes through the Los Angeles singer’s authenticity. Don’t laugh, Buck Owens comes from California. Rosy doesn’t try to imitate, she’s just putting on a fresh new face to an old style & produces a rejuvenated genre with her red lipstick grin. She certainly embodies the spirit of this music.
“Coming To See You” is a bit standard, but as Rosy (acoustic guitar/triangle) sings through the verses, it’ll get stuck in your mind like taffy. The majority of her songs are definitely constructed to give a listener a good time having a good time. Produced by Rosy, there are 10 Western swings through Main Attraction (Drops Oct 17/Independent/30:25).
The more impressive jaunt is “I Don’t Need To Know,” which puts Rosy’s range on full display. She doesn’t sing words; she instinctively adds joy to her intonation & phrasing. Making these tunes entertaining. There’s a jazzy Cab Calloway type phrasing to “Get On Me,” & it’s a showstopper. Her storytelling shines on “Rising Up,” with its upbeat arrangement & sparkling instrumentation.
Rosy isn’t so traditional that she sounds like an Appalachian hill’s singer. She does have that exuberant, searing style, modernized respectfully. She’s consistent since she does it again on the Hazel Dickens tune “Don’t Put Her Down You Helped Put Her There.” It’s playful, filled with Gothic country dust, laundry flapping on the line & the aroma of cornbread.
A bit more country-blues is the excellent ballad “Your Kinda Lovin.” This is Rosy’s finest vocal. With well-articulated phrasing. The achy “Bad For You” is equally drenched in perfection. If Dolly Parton attempted to sing a blues, it might sound something like this.
A genuine American recipe for delightfulness. Rosy Nolan.
Highlights – “Dead On the Vine,” “How It Feels To Fall In Love,” “Coming To See You,” “I Don’t Need To Know,” “Get On Me,” “Rising Up,” “Don’t Put Her Down You Helped Put Her There,” “Your Kinda Lovin,” & “Bad For You.”
Musicians –Julian McClannahan (fiddle/bgv), Billy Lupton (mandolin/bgv), Doc Brown (steel & electric guitars), Doug Organ (piano), Dirk Powell (accordion), Ryan Posner (double bass), Jim Doyle (drums), Kevin Brown (percussion), Maesa Pullman & Dee Farnsworth (bgv), Jack Pullman, Jason Hiller, RJ Chesney, & Zachary Ross (gang vocals).
Color image courtesy of Rosy’s Bandcamp site. Cover image courtesy of Jack Hackett.
CD @ Bandcamp & https://www.rosynolan.com/