A Letter Home
Neil Young
Neil Young’s sporadic concept records aren’t for everyone. A Letter Home should be.
While still an esoteric venture — recorded in a refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph — the songs are familiar ones, making this more accessible than previous out-in-left-field Young releases.
Among the songs: Bob Dylan’s Girl From the North Country, Bruce Springsteen’s My Hometown, Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again and Crazy, and Gordon Lightfoot’s Early Morning Rain. They are a reflection of Young’s roots and musical backbone, made all the more clear by the heartfelt and intimate delivery.
Young, 68, was captivated by the Voice-O-Graph that Jack White had restored and made available at his recording studio in Nashville, Tenn. Typically used by amateurs to record one song at a time, which is immediately laid down on vinyl, Young decided to cram himself into the phone booth-sized contraption and do an entire record.
The songs sound like they came from another age — complete with scratches, pops and imperfections usually only heard on old vinyl records. Adding to the idiosyncratic approach, Young fashioned the entire record as a letter to his deceased mother, delivering her a playlist of some of his favorite tunes.
It’s clear these songs are a part of Young’s musical DNA, and it’s almost as if the listener is being invited into his living room for a private concert — delivered from inside a phone booth, of course.
— Scott Bauer
Associated Press
The One & Only
Emily Giffin
Emily Giffin’s specialty is writing about relationships, especially when they are messy and complicated. In her best-sellers, including Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof, she has tackled themes such as betrayal, adultery and heartbreak while keeping her characters relatable, albeit flawed.
The One & Only is also about relationships, but it is longer — and at times darker — than her earlier books.
The story follows 33-year-old Shea Rigsby, a small-town Texan who lives for football, especially college football. She works for the local university, which has a strong football team that is coached by Clive Carr, the father of Shea’s best friend Lucy.
Shea, whose parents are divorced, found stability in the Carr family when she was growing up. She has always had a special bond with coach Carr because of her passion for football and her encyclopedic memory of football stats. In this way, she’s the antithesis of Lucy, who was more girly girl than sporty.
Shea is hit hard when Connie Carr, the matriarch of the Carr family, dies of cancer. She begins to question her path in life, and admits truths she had never allowed herself to see. Not all of her discoveries are welcomed by those around her.
It’s not uncommon to ask yourself when reading Giffin’s books: “How would I handle this?” “What would I do?”
— Alicia Rancilio
Associated Press
Just As I Am
Brantley Gilbert
Everybody in Nashville has been predicting Brantley Gilbert will be the next big thing in country music for a couple of years. His new album, Just As I Am, is engineered to make that little bit of soothsaying a reality.
The tracks follow the blueprint for modern country success. There’s the drinking song — first single Bottoms Up is already a No. 1 hit. There’s a song about his hometown called Lights of My Hometown.
He makes sure he defines himself for his female fans (If You Want a Bad Boy), pays tribute to friends and family members that died too young (One Hell of an Amen) and doesn’t forget the all-star team-up (Small Town Throwdown with labelmates Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett).
Gilbert wrote some of Jason Aldean’s biggest hits, including My Kinda Party and Dirt Road Anthem, the songs that put Aldean over the top. Since then, there’s been a debate about the direction of country, and Gilbert’s third album is certainly fodder for the discussion.
There’s a difference between following a formula and becoming a cliche, and Gilbert easily skirts that line with his songwriting, his sonic choices and a varied vocal approach. Gilbert co-wrote all 11 tracks with the help of some of Nashville’s more distinctive songwriters, and feels more invested than some of his song-mining peers.
Bottoms Up is more melancholy love song than a sloppy drunk anthem, and Gilbert’s vocal is subtle. The laid-back guitar line on that leads off opener Bad Boy is an invitation to listen for interesting instrumentation throughout. Hometown builds powerfully with a gospel choir wrapped around a towering guitar solo. And a melancholy line throughout the album finds a home My Faith in You, a song that reaffirms Gilbert’s faith after a difficult period that included the end of his engagement and struggles with alcohol.
— Chris Talbott
Associated Press