Williams, who wrote or co-wrote eight of the 11 songs, isn’t afraid to cover some of her heroes’ material, either. Her rendition of Neil Young’s “Birds,” is another highlight, an even starker version than the one on his brilliant early masterpiece, After The Gold Rush. Her lovely voice on the album’s closer is backed only by Gordie Sampson’s piano.
“I’m just a huge, massive Neil Young fan. And I’ve always loved that song and performed it live,” Williams said, recounting the last-minute decision to add “Birds” to the record. “I was going to put on ‘Angel From Montgomery,’ the John Prine song that I adore. And Bonnie Raitt has done that so amazingly and Susan Tedeschi and so many people, that I just called up my piano player and said, ‘Let’s cut it.’ We just did ('Birds') kind of for fun. And then I had a copy of it and the label heard it and they loved it. ... Hopefully, Neil likes it.”
And has Williams heard from Young himself? “No, but ... I am gonna send him a copy of the album and see if he approves.”
Odds are he will, along with the few skeptics, critics, and cynics she has left in the Music City.
Extras, credits
• Unplugged at Studio 330 photo by Brian Tipton.
• Check out Holly Williams, Part I at Blogcritics.
• Holly Williams will perform at the CMA Fan Social on June 13, a free event and autograph session that will also feature the Eli Young Band, Gloriana and Emerson Drive. Go to cmt.com for clues to find the secret location.
• Holly Williams and her mother Becky sing “Mama” during her Unplugged at Studio 330 performance for CMT, and the complete show is available online.
Article comments
1 - schridla
I heard some of the songs on her first album and thought they were OK. What I've heard from the new one, she plays a couple on the Unplugged show on CMT, sound pretty good, but I'd like to hear them with a full band. Looking forward to the album, though.
2 - ashley
Wow. Very good. Can't wait to listen to the album. It would be interesting to hear what Neil Young thinks of her work.