A Happy Take On An Angry Song, and Why That Might Be A Good Thing

Patty Loveless has a blast with this one. Who wouldn't, with Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and two crackerjack back-up singers? And that drummer? That's how to rock hard -- stay off the cymbal.

All that said, I want Loveless to be angry; clearly she's singing about a toxic relationship with a psychopath. Even Richard Thompson, who wrote this one and a whole host of other brilliant songs about toxic relationships, invariably comes across as someone who's more bilious than contemptuous. Bluegrass icon, Jimmy Martin, would have torn this one up and spat it out -- and we would have been wildly entertained.

If we can't have Jimmy, we might as well have Loveless' transcendent country pop. It's not a bad alternative.

What, you thought I was saying I hated her interpretation? Quite the contrary; I love it. I just wouldn't sing it this way.

Perhaps what Patty Loveless is saying is, "Thank the good Lord I've never been through this with some crazy man."

In any case, here she is with Richard Thompson's legitimately "Tear-Stained Letter".

Truth In Advertising

When they called this CD "Mountain Soul" they weren't kidding. In a forest of slick counterfeits, this is the real deal.

Patty Loveless could carry this one all by herself, but she brought in a crew of musicians who match her note for heartbreaking note.The harmony vocals are intricate and lovely, the instrumental backing is textbook classic country. If you want to know how country should sound, this is a track you should hear, over and over again.

 "Cheap Whiskey" is one of "Mountain Soul's" strongest tracks and my favorite. Here's Patty Loveless, backed by Rebecca Lynn Howard and Jon Randall, to sing it for you.

If you’re a bluegrass fan, you’ve heard stories like this one many times before, but the story that Patty Loveless tells makes the song that follows absolutely bone-chilling.

Written by Darrell Scott, this is “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”.

The turn on a dime from a capella singing to full band, full speed ahead gives this gospel barn burner some extra juice, but what are these musicians so dang happy about?

Maybe it’s the Gospel, although, if you’ve heard it preached on American TV, you’re likely to think just the opposite.

See, the American way says hard work + success = love and acceptance. The Gospel way says believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus’s death on the cross paid for all your screw ups, and He’ll love and accept you for all eternity – no matter how hard you don’t work or how many times you screw up.

There’s a world of difference between working hard to earn material success and working hard to earn God’s love and the free gift of salvation, which none of us screwups deserve. Maybe the reason Patty Loveless and crew are so happy is that, for the few minutes it took them to track “Rise Up, Lazurus”, they understood the difference at last.

American Christianity could take lessons.

Yup, it’s a Christmas song. I love the lyrical emphasis on simple things – the beauty of nature, the anticipation of playing and hearing stirring bluegrass music. And what a terrific band this is; this is the core group of musicians who have made Patty Loveless’s recent bluegrass recordings so haunting and beautiful. Just listen to these harmonies!

This is “Blue Grass, White Snow”.