Memo to Faith Hill and Shania Twain: Don't bother. Judging from the current crop of stellar releases by female singers and songwriters with a country bent, Hill and Twain might want to consider leaving their forthcoming releases on the shelf.
I'd like to think that Dolly Parton's return to her bluegrass roots, over the course of the three albums she's released in recent years on bluegrass label Sugar Hill, has had an influence on the Dixie Chicks. They could have also taken inspiration from the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. Whatever the case, on their third major-label release Home ( Open Wide/ Monument/ Columbia ) , the Dixie Chicks are a pluckin' and a fiddlin' their way into bluegrass bliss. Whether they are covering Stevie Nicks ( "Landslide" ) , Patty Griffin ( "Truth No. 2," "Top Of The World" ) , father and daughter Randy and Maia Sharp ( "A Home" ) , or singing their own original tunes including "White Trash Wedding" and "I Believe In Love," the Dixie Chicks rule in the realm of "Tortured, Tangled Hearts."
The aforementioned Maia Sharp returns after being trapped in record label snafu purgatory with a new self-titled disc ( Concord ) . Sharp's soulful pop songs have a dusting of country to them, which is fascinating considering that she co-wrote some of them with Pam Rose, Susan Ashton, Kim Richey, Buddy Mondlock, and her father Randy, all of whom represent contemporary country song writing. Sharp's smoky and expressive voice reminds me of Leah Kunkel, and imbues each song with genuine emotion. Standout tracks include "Long Way Home" ( perhaps the best cheating song since Joni Mitchell's "Off Night Backstreet" ) , "Crimes Of The Witness," the Bible thumper slamming "Sinners," the pair of performance commentaries "Happiness" and "Understudies," and "Your Own Justice" ( backup by Jonatha Brooke ) .
If anyone could give Shania and Faith pause, it would have to be Neko Case. One of the members of the insurgent country royal family, Case has a voice that will remind you of contemporary country's roots, recalling Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, and many others. Blacklisted ( Bloodshot ) , Case's third disc released under her own name ( she also records as a member of The New Pornographers and as one of The Corn Sisters, among others ) , is by far her best. That's saying a lot considering that both of her previous discs, The Virginian and Furnace Room Lullaby ( both by Neko Case and Her Boyfriends ) are essential listening. Case's voice gets under your skin, into your bloodstream and goes to your brain like an orgasmic narcotic. Why gay men and lesbians everywhere aren't bowing down and worshipping at the altar of Neko Case is beyond me. I guarantee that you've never heard anything like Case's originals "Things That Scare Me," "Deep Red Bells," "Lady Pilot," "Stinging Velvet," "Pretty Girls," "I Wish I Was The Moon," or her aching, yet empowered take on "Running Out of Fools."
Like Neko Case, Laura Cantrell sounds like she is conscious of her predecessors in a way that Hill and Twain aren't. Becoming as well-known for Radio Thrift Shop, her radio program for "citified country music lovers" as she is for her own singing and song writing, Cantrell lives up to expectations on her second full-length album When The Roses Bloom Again ( Diesel Only ) . A combination of covers ( Amy Rigby's "Don't Break The Heart," Dan Prater's "Vaguest Idea," Dave Schramm's "Conqueror's Song" ) and originals, including standouts such as "Too Late For Tonight," "Mountain Fern," and "Broken Again," Cantrell confidently takes her place alongside her contemporaries and her forebears.
As with many of the other artists in this column, Heather Myles has found a way to synthesize the past into her very contemporary songs and the results can be heard on Sweet Talk & Good Lies ( Rounder ) . Her originals, such as the title track, "Nashville's Gone Hollywood," "One Man Woman Again," "Little Chapel" ( a duet with Dwight Yoakam ) , "One And Only Lover," "Big Cars," are highly inventive, but not so much that they would scare off a traditionalist, new or old. Myles also handles both cover tunes, "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Cry Me A River," with more than enough care.
Allison Moorer leans towards a sophisticated pop sound on Miss Fortune ( Universal South ) , her third album. The torch and twang remain, but they are decorated in unexpected ways. The brilliant "Cold In California," for example, is warmed up by both horn and string sections. "Ruby Jewel Was Here" sounds like "here" is New Orleans and the guitars on "Steal The Sun," combined with Moorer's vocals, suggest a vintage seventies number that could almost be a Cher outtake. "Mark My Word" has the power to bring even the most heartless person to tears, "Yessirree" and "Dying Breed" put the drama into drinking.
For all of the Dixie Chicks' admirable efforts, I think it's going to be Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins and Chris Thile of Nickel Creek that will take the nu-bluegrass torch and run with it. The groundwork that the trio ( then a quartet ) laid through its musicianship on its 2000 self-titled debut disc indicated that what the bluegrass scene needed was a bit of youthful enthusiasm. That proves to be the ticket on This Side ( Sugar Hill ) , Nickel Creek's second disc. Daring covers ( Stephen Malkmus's "Spit On A Stranger," Gordon Kennedy & Wayne Kirkpatrick's "Hanging By A Thread," Carrie Newcomer's "I Should've Known Better," and Andy Irvine's "Sabra Girl," on which Sara Watkins takes the lead ) are paired up with originals by Thile ( "Green and Gray," "Beauty and the Mess" ) and Sean Watkins ( "Speak," the title track ) that find the guys maturing into quality songwriters.
