a m e r i c a n r o o t s m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y • b l u e s • f o l k • a m e r i c a n a m u s i c • a m e r i c a n r o o t s
m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y • b l u e s • f o l k • a m e r i c a n a m u s i c • a m e r i c a n r o o t s m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n
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Kitty Wells The Collection Spectrum Records |
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Track Listing: It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels Paying for That Back Street Affair Release Me Thou Shalt Not Steal Make Believe ('Til We Can Make It Come True) Making Believe I've Kissed You My Last Time Searching (For Someone Like You) (I'll Always Be Your) Fraulein I Can't Stop Loving You Mommy for a Day Amigo's Guitar Heartbreak U.S.A. Will Your Lawyer Talk to God? This White Circle on My Finger Finally / Webb Pierce A Woman Half My Age Kitty Wells - The Collection is essential for any country music lover given the Queen of Country's seminal influence on the genre. Not only was she the first female country artist to sell a million records, she was also the first female to reach Number 1 in the country charts. No mean feat in 1952 when her raw gutsy release ''It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'' was banned by NBC Radio and deemed too suggestive by the Grand Ol Opry. Wells' first hit is a natural opener on this welcome compilation while her equally controversial follow-up, ''Paying For The Back Street Affair'' sustains the tone of grit, grief and good girls all gone wrong. With ''Release Me'' the collection confirms its pace through the tinkling honky tonk piano. Englebert Humperdinck eat your heart out! ''Thou Shalt Not Steal'' is another classic crooner composed by a 17 year old Don Everly in 1954. There's something simple yet powerfully plaintive about Kitty Well's style of singing that lifts these love songs above the sentimental yearning all too common in country. It also explains why a singer with the substance of Emmylou Harris has revived Kitty's oeuvre, notably the down-home tune, ''Making Believe''. And Kitty Wells is the quintessential down-home country lady. Born Ellen Muriel Deason in 1919, she toured her home town of Nashville throughout her teens with her sisters and cousin as The Deason Sisters. But it was her partnership with Johnny Wright, another legend and her husband of 66 years which consolidated Kitty's multiple award-winning country music career so amply reflected on this CD. What's curious is how Wells sings so authentically of infidelity and heartache on songs like Harlan Howard's ''Mommy For A Day'' and ''Will Your Lawyer Talk To God'' given her own solid family setting. Now in their eighties, the couple continue to entertain along with their children and grandchildren. If you fancy a soothing saunter into the heart of country, then put this collection on, clear back the carpet, uncork your favourite brew and haul your sweetheart across the floor for a tender two-step. Kitty Wells will keep you waltzing 'til dawn. -- Maud Hand, BBC Related Links: |
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"Since migrating from Cambridge,
Mass to Nashville some three decades ago, Mark Brine has carved out a strong
reputation as an uncompromising traditionalist on the country music scene which
has made him one of the elder statesmen of Americana."
-- Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris Magazine
"Brine proves that if the world needed another Jimmie Rodgers, they've found one!" -- Pete Smith, Country Music Round Up "I could listen to him sing all night long … he does a good job that boy does." -- Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree "Brine could easily have been added to the cast of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' without raising an eyebrow. He belongs to that group of artists whose individuality and quirkiness consign them to the periphery of what's commercially viable. But God bless him for not just being another cog in the musical wheel." -- James McSweeney, Flyin Shoes |
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"A fine young man who I think
has a great future."
-- Hank Snow, Grand Ole Opry "I think what makes Mark Brine such a gifted songwriter/storyteller is the fact that he seems to be such an obvious fan of many genres of music. He's someone who is like a sponge when it comes to reintegrating influences into his own work." -- Gail Worley, Ink 19 "His career has pursued the path of a truly independent artist - someone who follows his soul and does things his own way … his ability to write and produce has made his name synonymous with quality." -- Doug Floyd, AltCountryTab.com ©2006 Mark Brine Music. All rights reserved. |