Sweethearts of the rodeo and beyond…
Nashville based Jackie Bristow brings modern country and western sounds on this richly produced and big sounding album of original tunes. She’s got a sweet nasally voice, mixing acoustic pieces like “Easy Road” and “Wild Cat” with rich harmonies, getting traditional and folksy on “Shakin’ My Bones”. With her team of Mark 
Punch/g, Mark Collins/ban, Thomas Gallatin/dr-perc-lps, Clayton Doley/key, Matt Fell/b among others, she creates a full ensemble for the 
urgent and slightly tropical “Livin’ For Love” and a rich urgency with pianist Nomad Ovunc on “Fool For You”, while theae are gorgeous strings and homespun pedal steel as Bristow is her most intimate on the vulnerable “Without You”. Today’s sounds from the Cumberland Gap.
Now, if you want something that is from the old school of picking and grinning with some dusty roads of voice and harmony, check out the team of Willie Heath Neal and Kira Annalise, both singing together and separately while playing acoustic guitar. With a team of Cody Jung/g, Steve Stone/steelg, Eddie Martin/b, Shawn Thacker/dr and guests Dale Watson/eg with Katie Shore/fi, the singers take you to the local Moose Lodge with some roadside kill of boogie woogie on “Heart of Stone” and the two stepping on “When I’m Gone” with Johnny McGowan. Annalise voice is June Carter classic on “ Even When” and gets down home with some picking and grinnin’ on “Road Worn”. Neal does a tasty duet with Katie Shore on the chicka booming “Caught” and the team gets bluesy on the earth toned “Die Right Here”. A trip to the VFW!
Sacramento based Val Starr delivers hard hitting blues rocking with her core team of John Ellis/b-slg, Paul Farman/dr, Tim Brisson/g, Frankie Munz/harm and a Ford truck of guests. The band has a 70s rocking feel, riffin’ hard on “Healing Kind of Blues”, boogie-ing on “We’re Not Getting Older” and as rowdy as Foghat on “Outside Looking In”. Starr sings with an optimistic clarity, and shows she can swing on the coy “If You Ever Change Your Mind” and getting sassy on the more rural “Pretty Girl Blues”. With the team digging into thick turf on the dark “Slow Blues Grinder”. Stomping out the ‘roaches on this one.
Most blues rocking of all is the defiant voice and playing of Sarah Borger, who sings with grit and plays guitar with Eric Ambel/g, Keith Voegele-Keith Christopher/b, Rob Arthur/org-p, and Ryan Rogers-John Perrin-Ryan Rogers-Phil Cimino/dr for some hard hitting material. The album sounds like a 70s group of country rockers, as a “Sweet Home Alabama” riff pervades the dark “Wasting My Time”, and Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Bad Company on “Would Know You”. The team pulls off some Chuck Berry styled licks on the rocking “She’s A Trucker” and “Pretty Christine” and Beatles-ish lines for “13th Floor”. When going acoustic, Borger wears pretty things on the breezy “Something To Do” while both dreamy and agonizing on “Together Alone”. A sweet hitch hiker.