Tag Archives: Ashley Monroe

Reviews

Album Review: Ashley Monroe–Sparrow

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Rating: 6.5/10

If any of you know me at all, you know I am an unashamed Ashley Monroe apologist and have been looking forward to new music from her almost since The Blade. With the release of the first single, “Hands on You,” came mixed feelings–I enjoyed the single, but I was hesitant about the more polished direction Monroe took sonically. I haven’t been overly impressed with any of the other pre-released tracks either, and what once was promising to be a great release was becoming a worrying one.

After several listens with this thing? Honestly, this is probably the most conflicted and divided I’ve been with myself about a project in a long while.

Monroe cites “good therapy” as being largely responsible for this record. She says that she finally chose to properly deal with the loss of her father at thirteen and what that was like for her family. That’s certainly evident from the opening lines of this album, as “Orphan” begins with the line from which the title of the album was inspired–“How does the sparrow know more than I? When a mother is gone, it learns how to fly.” “Orphan” is a ridiculous opener and one of the best songs of the year–and as for that polish which traditionally hasn’t been a Monroe characteristic, it actually works to perfection here, with elegant strings and piano accentuating the vocals and the story.

Monroe’s father comes up several more times on this album, often in its strongest moments. “Daddy I Told You” is another standout, again featuring some very tasteful piano and letting him know that she kept his name and still loves him. This one is just the kind of honest, thoughtful expression of emotion which defines country music. If I get asked to define it again anytime soon, I’m just going to cite this song. “Mother’s Daughter” is another track that echoes with the memories of her dad, as she sings about once being her father’s daughter but now having become more like her mother in his absence, or as the song says, “now that he’s no longer.” Sonically, this one is similar to something like “From Time to Time” from Ashley’s last album, and this one feels like a moment where the more polished sound works to her advantage.

Sensuality is also an important part of this record. I’m not sure how that plays into the therapeutic aspect of it for Monroe, but there is something liberating about the presence of both “Hands on You” and “Wild Love” here. This is the country genre, where women aren’t allowed to speak about desire at all, much less in this way, with lines like “pull my hair and call my name” (Wild Love”) and “I wish I’d have pushed you against the wall, locked the door in a bathroom stall” (“Hands on You.”) It’s not really apparent how little women actually sing about desire in country until you are presented with it here, and that shouldn’t be such a rare and shocking thing. I congratulated Shinyribs last year on introducing foot worship to country music; now I’d like to extend the same congratulations to Ashley Monroe for releasing these scandalous lines out into the world and especially on a major label.

I will say that while they both add value as individual songs, these two could have done with different melodies and production. “Wild Love” was released after “Hands on You,” and it’s the same tempo, same key, even the same strings in the background doing some of the same runs. I feel as if I’d have enjoyed “Wild Love” more if it had been released first, just as I enjoy “Hands on You” more currently. It’s intriguing because both of them stand well on their own, but they are so similar musically that they take away from one another on the album.

The major issue with this record can be boiled down to that incessant polish, and I hate to criticize him twice in a week, but Dave Cobb strikes again here. It’s not that Cobb did a bad job here, as the string sections and piano all over this album are generally really beautiful, even adding to some of the songs I’ve mentioned. They also work really well in “Hard on a Heart,” another of the standouts on the record. And Monroe said she wanted to work with him and wanted a countrypolitan feel on this album, so this problem has to do with her vision more than Cobb actually screwing it up.

but Dave Cobb is a terrible producer for Ashley Monroe. Vince Gill was a much better one, even on The Blade, where there was more polish than her previous records. The Blade still kept her personality, her emotion, that traditional voice as the focal points. With Sparrow, you’re often too drawn in or too distracted, depending on the song, by these orchestral arrangements to fully appreciate the words of Ashley Monroe. And it’s a shame because this is supposed to be the most personal record for Monroe to date–but instead of letting us in like Kacey Musgraves managed to do on her album, it feels like Monroe holds us at arm’s length, not quite letting us into the unique headspace she was in when she wrote these songs but rather staying in her own private moment. Her vulnerability is masked by cellos and piano and general overproduction. “Paying attention” is absolutely ruined by production; lyrically, that’s a great heartbreak song and one that Ashley could nail vocally, but she’s fighting to be heard over everything else so that she’s not even on pitch all the time. She also has pitch issues in “She Wakes me Up,” another ridiculously cluttered affair, and it’s not a coincidence. Ashley Monroe is one of the most gifted country vocalists around, but she’s being drowned out by all this until both her emotional delivery and her technical performance are suffering. It renders some songs boring and lifeless, some of which might have been better had Monroe and her lyrics been allowed to shine more. I mean, I don’t think “Rita” could have been helped by anything, as that’s definitely the most boring track Ashley has ever released, but it’s the exception here, and the point still stands.

I wanted to like this more than I do, and as many issues as I have with this album, I probably do enjoy it more than my words may imply. The standouts I have listed are just that–they’re not the few tolerable or decent tracks on an otherwise terrible record, they’re gems that stand as proud additions to Ashley Monroe’s discography. A brilliant song like “Orphan” proves that this more polished, countrypolitan style can work for Monroe at times, and it’s a song like that which really makes the boring, overproduced filler on this record all the more disheartening. Overall, this style doesn’t suit Monroe, and especially not on what’s meant to be a personal, intimate record. Here’s hoping Vince Gill will come back to produce her next project. Cherry-picking is not something I normally condone, but it’s appropriate here because this album has some treasures; unfortunately, they’re mixed in with filler, and more importantly, I don’t see this record making new Ashley Monroe fans. For those like me, already unapologetic fans, it does have the potential to grow–the problems are less with Ashley herself and more with the style–but I don’t see Sparrow being a defining record for her, even if it symbolizes a defining moment for Monroe personally.

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Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Ashley Monroe–Satisfied

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In honor of Ashley Monroe’s fourth album release Friday, it seems fitting to discuss her long-lost debut, Satisfied. I could have chosen Like a Rose, which is one of my three favorite albums of all time, but this one has been overlooked and mishandled since its conception, so it’s this one I’ll highlight.

Style: traditional country

People Who Might Like This Album: fans of Like a Rose, fans of Lee Ann Womack, and just generally people starving for that traditional sound in modern country music

Standout Tracks: “Used,” “Hank’s Cadillac,” “Make Room at the Bottom,” “I Don’t Wanna Be,” “Let me Down Again”

Reflections: If you’ve read more than one of these, you’ll immediately say: “Why no release date?” Well, I’m looking at this album on Apple Music now, and I’m confronted with three different versions of Satisfied with three different release dates and yes, three different track listings. The original, limited release of this came out in 2006, and even that isn’t one of the three listed here, as that contained the single “I Don’t Want To” with Ronnie Dunn; if you got that version, you’re lucky because that song seems to not exist anywhere for purchase now. (And someone please correct me if I’m wrong about that because I’d really like a copy of “I Don’t Want To,” by the way.)

Ashley was dropped from her label in 2007, and the album was largely unreleased. It became available again in 2009 as a digital download. That version has a twelfth track in place of “I Don’t Want To” called “Promised Land,” and that version is probably the most well-known. There’s the original minus “I Don’t Want To,” as well as another version with a twelfth track known as “I Can’t Unlove You.” You see why I say this record has been mishandled–in fact, in 2013, when Monroe’s career had been revitalized after the success of Pistol Annies enough for her to be signed and release Like a Rose, some called that album her debut. It reflects both ignorance about the artist and perhaps embarrassment that such a talent was forsaken in this way. I’ve even seen Sparrow referred to in places as her third album, and I just think it’s a travesty to let this debut go unrecognized.

It was ignored and Ashley was dropped partly because it was so traditional, but more so because of the depth of emotion reflected in her songs. Monroe talks of taking “Used,” a song about literally being used like a worn-out, faded dress where “the fabric has been torn,” to radio stations where she moved DJ’s to tears, some even saying they wished they could play it, but it wouldn’t fit with the format. Thankfully, a different version of “Used” was recorded for Like a Rose, so that song has seen the wider reception it deserves. Monroe was only nineteen, but she’d lost her father six years prior to the recording of this debut, and much of it reflects that sorrow. It’s only someone who has lived through heartbreak who can make a song like “Make Room at the Bottom,” a pretty simple track lyrically, come to life because of the depth of emotion in each syllable. That same sorrow is displayed on “He Ain’t Coming Back” and in a different way on “Hank’s Cadillac,” as she expresses that she would have kept Hank Williams Sr. from dying if she’d been there that night. She’d have helped him to sober up and played his songs on the radio, and the world wouldn’t have lost him so early.

There are lighter moments here as well, like “Pain Pain” and the Dwight Yoakam duet “That’s why we Call Each Other Baby.” I don’t want to paint Monroe or this album into some sort of dark, depressing corner. But it’s her ability to express pain because she lived it that makes her special as an artist, that came out on these songs and ultimately hurt the performance of this album, and which still survives today on this forgotten record and deserves to be heard. I’m sorry Nashville treated this album so badly, but at least it’s in our hands now, and we can hear the debut from an artist many of us have come to love.

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Playlists

February Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music

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Well, this month’s playlist is definitely a good one. If you haven’t checked out Brandi Carlile, Wade Bowen, Caleb Caudle, Mike & the Moonpies…well, here’s your chance. It was a strong month for singles, and we’ve got some promising new songs from Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, and Red Shahan. There seemed to be something for everyone in February, from Americana to Texas country to the mainstream. And if you’re shocked that a Cole Swindell song made our list, well, deal with it. Thanks as always to Zack for supplying the Spotify version, and my apologies in advance for the lack of Courtney Patton on that platform.

Apple Music users, you can follow me there @countryexclusive for this and all our future playlists, as well as for updates to the Saving Country Music top 25. For February’s playlist,
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Reviews

Song Review: Ashley Monroe’s “Hands on You”

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Rating: 7.5/10

First of all, whose idea was this to release the new Ashley Monroe single on the very same day that Kacey Musgraves is debuting new songs and giving us information on her next album? Invariably, Musgraves is going to overshadow Ashley Monroe today, and this becomes especially important when you take into account the ridiculous competition which has been manufactured among the very few women allowed to release country projects on major labels. It just seems like bad marketing strategy to release Ashley’s first song in three years on a day where it has to compete with Kacey Musgraves for attention and coverage…but I digress. It’s here, so let’s discuss the song.

So yeah, this is a sex song. Or, if you like, it’s an “almost-sex song,” as apparently the narrator didn’t actually get to have sex and instead is now lying in bed alone wishing for the things they could have done. It’s hard to review a song like this because they are what they are, but the main concern really becomes how well a singer can pull this off, and Ashley does well with it, giving a convincing performance and selling the lyrics well. Lyrically, it also manages to draw a good line between generic and overly detailed, so that the lines are specific enough within these parameters to make this song stand out among many that are similar. It’s also worth noting, especially in an environment where Maren Morris characterized women in country as having to be sexy all the time but not allowed to actually be sexual or express their desires, that Ashley Monroe seems to be breaking this stereotype here and is quite comfortable admitting these things.

The melody can start to get slightly samey after awhile, and it’s a good thing there’s an interlude breaking up the verses, but a bridge might have added something more to the song. There’s also some ambiguity inn the lyrics; the biggest question is why didn’t they lay their hands on each other? Was she simply shy, guilty about another relationship, or something else? It works because it can apply to many situations, and also the focus is really not meant to be on this part, but still, there could have been a line or two explaining this a little better, perhaps in the nonexistent bridge. She calls it “forbidden company” at one point, so would this have been adultery?

This is definitely Monroe’s least country moment to date, not really going completely in favor of pop country, but mostly adding that East Nashville vibe which has become even more cliché in independent and lesser-known mainstream music than Luke Bryan singing about tailgates. Not saying it doesn’t work on this song because it’s actually produced quite well, but it’s been done to death, and if her whole album is like this, it will be a shame to see such a traditional voice being used for more polished and modern music. For now, though, it does fit this song, and this is definitely a better start than “On to Something Good” was for The Blade. Promising song overall, and I look forward to her album.

Written by: Ashley Monroe, Jon Randall

Reviews

Album Review: Sara Evans — Words

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Rating: 6.5/10

This has proven to be one of the more difficult albums I’ve ever covered here. It’s an album full of great songs–a couple of throwaway tracks that surely didn’t need to be here, but mostly, these are great songs. But lump them all into an album, and the result is a project that runs together, particularly in the back half. The individual songs are greater than the sum of their parts, and this makes it hard to judge.

Words feels highly stereotypical in the fact that it features fourteen female songwriters, a fact which was made much of ahead of this release, and that twelve of these fourteen songs are about love in some form–new love, relationships ending, or the aftermath and rebuilding process afterword. This in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, and most of the songs are good or at least decent, but it’s the sameness in them which hurts the album as a whole and which only further reinforces the all too familiar stereotype that women only sing and write about love. Again, that’s not bad as it relates to Sara Evans; if Sara wants to sing about love for the majority of this record, then more power to her, but if you’re going to go for similar themes, you have to go for variety in production, and other than a couple exceptions, there’s not much variety in this area either. add in a couple of songs about something else, and the true greatness in some of these tracks would have only shone more brightly.

But let’s talk about the songs themselves for a moment because a few do manage to separate themselves from the bunch anyway and stand out as very nice additions to Sara Evans’ discography. The front of the record is the strongest, featuring the more country-leaning opener, “Long Way Down” and the country pop “All the Love You Left Me,” both very nice heartbreak songs. The former takes a more upbeat attitude and features fun instrumentation while the latter sees Sara in a more vulnerable position and showcases one of her best vocal performances here. “Diving in Deep” is probably a little too cheesy for some, but it works well for me; it’s the first of the new love variety and is just catchy as all hell. “Marquee Sign,” at this point on the album, is definitely the weakest, but it seems like an outlier, and four songs in, this record really holds a lot of promise.

Then we get easily the two worst songs of the bunch, “Like the way You Love Me” and “Rain and Fire.” “Like the Way You Love Me” is just a generic piece of filler about how she finally found someone better than all the assholes she’s been with, and “Rain and Fire” is a really obnoxious track about this guy who is supposedly having problems with his girlfriend, and Sara, who just met him tonight–think every bro country song we’ve ever criticized for this–is basically telling him to leave this girl and that she’d be better for him. Honestly, I don’t know why people haven’t made a bigger deal of this because lyrically, it’s like the female, albeit more well-written and decidedly more catchy, version of “Break up with Him.” Yeah, not a fan of this song.

The rest is just sort of mediocre. Here’s where the album runs together and where if there were some breaks in the material, the back half could have been much better. “Make Room at the Bottom” is the most memorable one on this half; this is a simple heartbreak song previously done by Ashley Monroe, and Sara Evans offers a fine version too. “Night Light” is admittedly nothing special lyrically, but the melody is just really beautiful, and I find myself coming back to this one simply for the sound of it. “I Need a River” does provide a break in the material, and it’s also more country-sounding, so you would think I would love it, but it’s just sort of decent for me. I do appreciate its message about getting back to the simpler things in life and the much-needed diversion from love songs. The other break comes in “Letting You Go,” a personal song about watching her son grow up, but honestly, the reference to her song “Born to Fly” here just ruins this song for me. It feels too calculated. “I Don’t trust Myself” features some truly cool verses, as one thing leads to another in Sara’s effort to avoid thinking about an ex, but the chorus just repeats the title line, so it feels anticlimactic. Evans gives a great vocal performance on “I want You,” but again, it’s underdeveloped lyrically. The title track is a decent heartbreak song, but by the eleventh track, I’ve already heard this quite enough, and other songs have done it so much better. All these songs, though, with the exception of “Letting You Go,” would have had more potential if they weren’t lumped together, and indeed do sound better on their own.

Overall, the only really bad songs here are “Like the Way You Love Me,” “Rain and Fire,” and “Letting You Go.” And many people will like the last one, it’s just ruined for me. There are a lot of really great songs here, and if there had been more variety, they would have stood out more. There are some that manage to stand out anyway, particularly near the front of the record. But the songs are better than the album as a whole, and although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this record, I’d certainly check out the songs and maybe pick out a few. I don’t normally recommend cherry-picking–that’s reserved for Memorable Songs–but this album is the perfect example of a group of songs that will sound better in playlists than all together.

Good songs, mediocre album.

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