Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury falls with a resounding thud on the cheap sentimental side of the line. Swelling strings in all the usual clichéd places, meaningful vocal tricks that have been used forever, and neutered pedal steel guitar all contribute to suck whatever life out of these songs that might have been in them originally.
Mickey Newbury recorded most of his music in Nashville so I suppose that makes him nominally a country musician. I think a person willing to commit to full country treatments of his music might have had more success with this material. But Miss Jones' interpretations have all the genuine emotional feel of a Las Vegas lounge act.
When I read someone like Kris Kristofferson referring to Mickey Newbury as "one of the great American songwriters" I know there has to be something to his songs that make them at least a cut above average. Sometimes it's hard to tell by just reading a song's lyrics how well it will translate into something song.
Reading the lyrics of Newbury's song "Songs of Sorrow" you can see it requires a delicate touch to support the emotional flow of the poetry. He utilizes the freedom that music gives a lyricist to evoke imagery and emotion. A producer and performer willing to be a vehicle could potentially make them wonderful.
Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the style people are willing to produce anymore, and so the music on this album has been encumbered by far too much unnecessary baggage that takes away from any power the lyrics could potentially have. One of the problems with a tribute album is the music of the original composer is left at the mercy of whoever is rendering the tribute and the style they think is appropriate to his or her music.
The tribute albums I've found to work best have been those with a variety of artists contributing. This ensures a broad representation of interpretations, and gives the listener a better opportunity to appreciate the skills of the person being honored. If the style of one performer doesn't appeal to you, or isn't appropriate for the music in your opinion, than another might and you will have a better chance to judge the music's quality.
Article comments
1 - kriss wagner
Mr. Marcus: Seldom have I read a review that is riveting, insightful and clearly well-researched. Yours about Kacey Jones’ new album isn’t one of them. Rather, and against your grain, Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury is a flawless presentation of the late songwriter’s thoughtful and often painful reflection of his world and the world of millions of us. Kacey takes great care to present his lyrics with appropriate vocals from soaring joy and hopefulness to alto-voiced dispair and resignation. Wisely understated, she allows Newbury’s lyrics and music to tell the stories, helping the listener understand them through an easy-to-listen-to, empathetic style, complimented by considerate, full-bodied arrangements.
Since you admittedly don’t know anything about her, I’ll help you by saying those familiar with her other works know her as a transplanted singer/songwriter/producer of global influence in the Country music industry. Recognized as an accomplished comedienne and writer of a sometimes biting, sometimes ironic and always experienced catalog of hundreds of songs, she adds the Newbury tunes to her repertoire of remarkable performances. As an accomplished musician and writer, Kacey knows good writing and, in this album, delivers the goods.
Your scathing, Thesaurus-dependent diatribe in which you admittedly hadn’t heard of Kacey or Mickey Newbury, went on for two pages, reaching a conclusion with no foundation and no background. When a reviewer takes the first 14 lines to apologize for his impending pan, a red flag should go up for the reader: This person doesn’t know what he’s talking about. On the other hand, Ron Wynn’s review in the Nashville City Paper is 14 lines start to finish, intelligent, incisive and, unlike yours, knowledgable.
Without tainting my observation with a repeat of your review, I will make just three points: First, you undertook reviewing an album which is clearly over your head. You sound incapable of stretching your narrowly-defined musical universe. I have read some of your reviews. You need to stay away from classy recordings like Kacey’s.
Second, you seem to have difficulty discerning one instrument from another (“…neutered pedal steel guitar”). Now, I’ve listened to Kacey’s CD at least 30 times edge to edge and I haven’t heard one pedal steel guitar, neutered or otherwise. Which validates my musical training since there isn’t a pedal steel guitar on any track.
Third, you strongly suggest that since Kacey’s several previous albums have been comedic, she should remain in that milleau . You also presume that Mr. Newbury, having “recorded most of his music in Nashville” automatically “makes him nominally a country musician” .
Since you are categorically pigeonholing Kacey and Mr. Newbury, I suggest that you, who have been described on-line as a “long-haired Canadian iconoclast”, should leave music reviews to those with open minds and write only about hockey.