OR   Search for Artist/Title    Advanced Search
 
you are not logged in...  [login] 
All Reviews    Edit This Review     
Review: 'STRAY BIRDS, THE'
'Echo Sessions'   

-  Label: 'www.thestraybirds.com'
-  Genre: 'Alt/Country' -  Release Date: '2013'

Our Rating:
I know nothing about The Stray Birds other than this CD EP features songs that influenced them and that they often heard as cover versions in the first place.

They open with an almost bluegrass version of Townes Van Zandt's Loretta that is all about the mandolin solo that holds it together and takes it close to hoe-down territory alongside some nice harmony vocals that draw you into the song.

They slow things down on Susanna Clark's I'll Be Your San Antone Rose which is all wistful while Maya De Vitry's vocals are full of longing and regret. It's quite beautiful and restrained almost to the point of wallpaper but the playing ensures they don't become that bland.

The Louvin Brothers' When I Stop Dreaming sounds about ready for the Grand Ole Opry. It's plaintive and features some cool fiddling.

Jimmie Rodgers' classic Blue Yodel #7 is played so slowly that it loses what always drew me to the song in the first place until they get to the instrumental sections that save this version from being totally forgettable.

The EP closes with a sweet version of Nanci Griffith's I Wish It Would Rain, which sounds like it is being played on a porch in the middle of nowhere. It's rather polite and ever so slightly too saccharine to make it really work for me. Although I'm sure it works just fine in North Carolina where they come from.

This EP certainly makes me want to hear what The Stray Birds' own songs sound like.

Find out more at The Stray Birds online
  author: simonovitch

[Show all reviews for this Artist]

READERS COMMENTS    10 comments still available (max 10)    [Click here to add your own comments]

There are currently no comments...
----------



STRAY BIRDS, THE - Echo Sessions