Tuesday, April 28, 2009

MUSIC: Sing Chapter 1

Wynonna Judd is a vocal genius. "No One Else On Earth," "I Saw The Light," and "Testify To Love" are arguably some of the best country songs ever recorded, and in no small part to the singer.

I remember the one and only time I saw Wynonna in person I was an instant fan. It was at Country Fest in Cadott, WI, in 2004 or 2005 and she wasn't even the headliner! (She was, fortunately, performing in the second to last slot, at the very least.) I didn't know many of the songs in her catalogue but a few bluesy tunes in, it didn't matter. Wynonna may not have moved around the stage a lot or had flashy stage lights and pyrotechnics, but she didn't need any of that. She made it seem like we weren't all standing out in a field a few country miles from the nearest town, but instead in a small intimate venue like some off-the-beaten-path undiscovered coffee shop. Not an easy feat.

Her newest record, "Sing Chapter 1" brings me back to that drizzly June night. Although, instead of a coffee shop, it feels more like a back-road honky-tonk saloon. Either way, I feel like I'm at the party when I listen to this collection of covers that, I must admit, I not 100% familiar with.

I love Wynonna's version of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" and secretly wish she would have done "Grandma's Hands" as well or instead. The title track, "Sing" is great, although I don't know where it came from before Wynonna got ahold of it. I must be in a foot-stompin' kind of mood because I've also got "The House Is Rockin'" and "I Hear You Knocking" on repeat.

Sergio del Limónar

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