Bramble Rose

Amazon.com
Imagine the Rolling Stones recording a country album in Muscle Shoals with Dusty Springfield singing lead. Now imagine a young artist from North Carolina whose ambition not only measures itself against such classic comparisons, but shows the promise to transcend them. Tift Merritt's major-label debut finds such promise fulfilled on "Sunday," the six-minute centerpiece in which the sweet sensuality of her upper register floats over an organ bedrock and vocal chorus that are pure Southern church. Even when other cuts sound like they could have been preserved in a '70s time capsule--the generic country-rock of "Diamond Shoes" and the very Stonesy "Neighborhood"--her vocals have a seductive intimacy that freshens the familiar. The lead guitar of producer Ethan Johns and the keyboards of Benmont Tench (on loan from Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) augment Merritt's band on arrangements that give the material plenty of room to breathe. As a writer, Merritt has some room to grow, but as a singer, she already sounds like one of the greats. --Don McLeese

Bramble Rose,Tift Merritt,Lost Highway,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Alternative Country,Americana,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

Bramble Rose

Average customer rating:

interesting
good songs, bad production
Blew me away!
The Best Debute
Benchmark Debut

Bramble Rose
Tift Merritt
Manufacturer: Lost Highway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000066HQB
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Tracks:

Trouble Over Me
Virginia, No One Can Warn You
Neighborhood
Bird of Freedom
Bramble Rose
I Know Him Too
Sunday
Supposed To Make You Happy
Diamond Shoes
Are You Still In Love With Me
When I Cross Over

Amazon.com

Imagine the Rolling Stones recording a country album in Muscle Shoals with Dusty Springfield singing lead. Now imagine a young artist from North Carolina whose ambition not only measures itself against such classic comparisons, but shows the promise to transcend them. Tift Merritt's major-label debut finds such promise fulfilled on "Sunday," the six-minute centerpiece in which the sweet sensuality of her upper register floats over an organ bedrock and vocal chorus that are pure Southern church. Even when other cuts sound like they could have been preserved in a '70s time capsule--the generic country-rock of "Diamond Shoes" and the very Stonesy "Neighborhood"--her vocals have a seductive intimacy that freshens the familiar. The lead guitar of producer Ethan Johns and the keyboards of Benmont Tench (on loan from Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) augment Merritt's band on arrangements that give the material plenty of room to breathe. As a writer, Merritt has some room to grow, but as a singer, she already sounds like one of the greats. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:

interesting.......2007-03-21

saw her live performance better than album, still a good album you must listen to lyrics to appreciate the performance

good songs, bad production.......2005-12-10

Tift's voice is undeniable lovely, but the production of this cd hinders the beauty of these songs from really coming to life. the acoustic guitar is buried so deeply in the mix that it resembles a static-y strum in the background. and it's a shame, because tracks like "I Know Him Too", "Virginia, No One Can Warn You" and the achingly gorgeous title track are all excellent songs that could have been so much more appealing to the ear, given a better, richer production job. some of the songs on this cd fall too close to Sheryl Crow territory for me to personally enjoy, but the traditional blue-eyed country sound of most of these selections are nice.

Blew me away!.......2004-05-14

I discovered this CD back in 2002 and I haven't stopped listening to it. I feel sorry for her in a way, this is such a benchmark debut album, that it will be hard to follow up. I'm certain she can make another great album like this one though! Tift Merritt's sound is a cross between Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Dusty Springfield, as another viewer pointed out, and the songs here really work. It's an enjoyable listen start to finish, and I find myself loving more with each listen. Merritt's lyrical perspective speaks of the often-unfortunate twists and turns of fate, but without bitterness or spite, and she can jump from the wistful sway of "Virginia, No One Can Warn You" to the R&B-influenced bite of "Neighborhood" and back to the classic weeper style of the title cut without missing a step or ever sounding less than committed or convincing. Highlights include "I Know Him Too", "Diamond Shoes", "When I Cross Over", "Sunday" and "Trouble Over Me", though there is not one weak track on this fine album.

The Best Debute.......2004-04-02

Tift Merritt's Bramble Rose is the most complex female country music album since Trish Yearwood's Real Live Woman. This is not a teenaged girl falling in and out of crushes like so many so-called strong women of the day. This is a woman who happens across men, considers the possibility of a relationship with them, then feels her way through the rest of life. "You're not my boyfriend/I don't want a boyfriend" she asserts in the first line of "Trouble Over Me," "I don't want you for life/but don't we get along fine." The rest of her album explores life and love in much this same way.

This is a real woman, a complex woman, one with a life and friends as well as a man. She lays it out to a male friend/possible love interest in "Neighborhood," "Honey you don't look good/baby you can run 'round with just anybody in the neighborhood." However, she advises her friend to go after love in Diamond shoes "No one can win a heart like yours/but damned if he ain't tryin'." Perhaps the strongest cut on the album is "Sunday" a tribute to the day of lounging in bed and visiting your mother. "Supposed to Make You Happy" is a heart wrenching look at relationship failure. In the middle of songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" Merritt offers "Bird of Freedom," which explores rather than asserts patriotism. However, it is perhaps in the title track when she gives all of us, to borrow a Susan Werner phrase, last of the good straight girls, a new song about, "a real good woman, nobody knows."

Tift Merritt has earned a number of comparisons to Emmilou Harris. Part of it is she has a similar whispy, etheral country/folk voice. Another part of it is her ability to mix genres and still come out sounding distinctly country. However, comparing her to Emmilou Harris is like comparing Allison Moorer to Tammy Wynette. Both may bring to mind their heriones of old, but each has a sound that will always be their own.

Benchmark Debut.......2004-03-16

Probably the coolest thing about Tift Merritt's debut album is that she doesn't allow you to develop staid, static expectations about her. You'll be grooving along with "Virginia, No One Can Warn You," feeling mellow enjoying that beautiful soprano; then suddenly she'll swing into "Neighborhood," with its guitar and vocals to blister paint, and you're out of your chair dancing before you can even stop yourself.

There's no mistaking this for anything but a debut album. Good as it is, there's a certain unsteadiness about it. Whenever Merritt moves away from her comfort zone in country music's heyday, she still seems to be feeling her way around, as though she's in this area for the first time. But when she's in her metier, wow, this is music you'll continue hearing in your dreams.

Tift Merritt would have been in the mainstream of country music not so long ago, when mainstream country was still good. It's easy to imagine songs like "Sunday" being recorded by Loretta Lynn. "Diamond Shoes" could be a cover of Jessi Colter for its brass and its musicality. Now that mainstream country has become so slick and bland, Merritt has been hung with the "alt" label and her albums don't move half the copy they deserve. Fans of true country should be offended.

Tracks:

Geronimo's Cadillac
The Bramble And The Rose
Lonesome Road
Stages Of My Life
Oh Death
Hit The Road, Jack
Copperfields
Mama Lou
I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby
Strawberry Roan
Canaan's Land
Rank Stranger

Customer Reviews:

VERY GOOD ALBUM!.......2005-03-23

These two artists sound very good together. Good song selection, and instrumentation. Contains a definitive version of "Geronimo's Cadillac". A GOOD BUY!

Excellent stuff!.......2000-05-31

I've loved Mary McCaslin's solo stuff for several years now, and I was excited to hear this was being re-released this year. I was not disappointed. In fact I was very, very pleased. It was actually much better than I expected. With the possible exception of 'Hit The Road Jack", every other cut on this disc is a keeper. Some of them are just flat out fantastic, especially the covers of the old country standards "Lonesome Road" and "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby". I'd say this disc is a "must have" for fans of solid country folk music. It's one of my favourite purchases of the past year.

After all these years it's still great!.......2000-03-18

Jim Ringer and Mary McCaslin sang duo's at their live concerts and this album reflects that.

If you like slightly country based folk, you'll love this.

I used to hire them to sing in Hartford, Connecticut at the Sounding Board back in the late 70's. They always drew large crowds. For some reason I think personal problems overwhelmed them and they slowly lost popularity. By 1990 they had disappeared from the folk circuit.

This album is highly produced with a lot of different backing instruments including drums.

It's a very lively album for the most part. Even though the words might be sad ones, most of the tunes are lively and the beat also is.

I can't compare this duo to anyone else. It was a favorite of mine when first released in 1980 on vinyl. Now, thankfully, Rounder has re-released it on c.d.

Tracks:

Blue Skies And Teardrops
Coat Of Many Colors
The Engineers Don't Wave From The Trains Anymore
Why Tell Me Why
Love Grown Cold
The Bramble And The rose
I'll Pretend It's Raining
Hey Porter
New Patches
My Younger Days
Red Line To Shady Grove
Heartstrings

Customer Reviews:

One of the finest bluegrass bands around.......2002-09-23

Lynn Morris and her band have been overshadowed in recent years by others, particularly Alison Krauss, but Lynn and Marshall are brilliant singers and all the band are talented musicians.

On this album, Lynn (lead singer on most tracks) plays clawhammer banjo on The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore (a nostalgic Tom T Hall song remembering steam trains and how much more exciting they were than diesels) - on other tracks she plays rhythm guitar.

David McLaughlin plays lead guitar on Hey Porter (the old Johnny Cash song - they love their trains!) - on other tracks he plays mandolin. Tom Adams plays banjo. Stuart Duncan (not a member of the band, but a guest on this album) plays fiddle.

Marshall Wilborn sings lead on the two train songs and two songs he wrote himself, My younger days and Heartstrings. He is also the band's bass player.

Lynn does a magnificent cover of Coat of many colors. Of course, nobody could ever quite match Dolly's version of this song, which is about a true life experience, but Lynn's version is as good as any other I've heard, including Emmylou's.

There are many other excellent songs here, including Love grown cold, a song written by Lynn, plus a fine instrumental written by Tom, Red line to Shady Grove.