As a long time fan of
Slaid Cleaves, and possessing every release he’s put out to date, a new
CD is always an exciting prospect. The fact that one of the
producers was Cleaves’ long time friend and another of my favorite
singer songwriters, Rod Picott, made the disc even more intriguing and a
“must have ASAP”. The day the CD was officially released, I called our
local Best Buy, and had them hold the only copy in the store so I could
listen immediately. Disc in hand, I had no doubt this was a good
day.
I had already read quite a bit about Unsung, and even heard a few
tunes from it, but eagerly sat and listened to it, start to finish.
The verdict? Well, a very good CD it is, probably not my favorite
of his, but very good indeed.
The paradox for me was that I was happy he was featuring songwriters
that many people would be unfamiliar with, and I am a fan of several of
them. But on the flip side, I missed those “written by Slaid Cleaves”
tunes I’ve come to expect and love on each CD.
“Devil’s Lullaby” is getting airplay on Sirius Radio and on our local
Texas/Americana music station KHYI near Dallas. It’s a great
version Slaid does of this song, and I’m excited for the exposure it
brings the songwriter, Michael O’Connor. I can’t even remember the
first time I saw O’Connor, but I’ve seen him many times accompanying
Cleaves, Susan Gibson, and others. He’s a very talented
singer/songwriter in his own right, and his second CD is targeted for
release this fall. He’s also a super nice guy to boot.
“Getaway Car” is another wonderful tune O’Connor wrote, of which Cleaves
says in the liner notes “My wife Karen would wait around all
night to hear this one so I figured I’d better learn it.” Smart man,
listening to the wife.
Another fabulous songwriter featured on this disc is Karen Poston.
The writer of Cleaves’ previously released recorded tune “Lydia”, and
co-writer with him of favorites “Horseshoe Lounge” and “Drinkin’ Days ,
another home run is hit with “Flowered Dresses”. This song will
bring a tear to the eye if you’re really listening. It’s destined
to be another “Slaid Cleaves classic”.
Other favorites of mine include “Racecar Joe” written by Texas
singer/songwriter Adam Carroll and "Millionaire" by singer/songwriter
David Olney. Of course, I must confess that these were favorites
before this CD, but Cleaves covers them extremely well, maintaining the
integrity of the songwriters while interpreting with his own styling.
Very, very nice.
Every tune is a jewel, and it’s one of the better CD’s I’ve gotten this
year. It’s really a nice tribute to some talented folks from a
very talented man. His ability to fall in love with someone else’s
song, and in turn make it his own is a forte...he’s done it very well
both previously and this time. I still think Cleaves himself is a
little “unsung” if you will, deserving more recognition for the quality
of music he gives us.
For now, I’ll be enjoying this CD as I have his others. But mark
my words, I’ll be there the day the doors open at Best Buy, and I’ll be
first at the check-out when Slaid Cleaves has a new CD with lots of his
own songwriting again.
Lone Star Mama
Written by Dana Jones, August, 2006
