Carlene Carter [Little Love Letters]
This is not the sort of album i would buy nowadays, i guess very Shania Twain-ish, too much yee ha Country, i'm sure i would be put off listening to the samples of the first few tracks, however, this was acquired in a day when i was newly delving into Country music [1993], one of my very first Country disc purchases, it was all very new, i guess in a way i had more of a naivete about me, i was eager to lap up all types of new genres [ i was newly getting into Blues and Folk at the same time], the musical world seemed to be a wonderful oyster to explore, and this just seemed better than it probably was at the time, but i've played it a good dozen times since, and it's seeped into my heart, some of the themes are quite touching, and i have a soft heart, plus the tunes are excellent, so it gets to stay in my collection, i'm glad for the diversity i have developed, plus i'm glad that i have these albums in my collection that are almost 'anomalies', things that are 'just not me!', my deepest advice is explore!, take a genre of music you hate! [for me it's Rap right now], and delve into it until you start to find something you like, it has saved the shrinking of my musical brain.
Carlene Carter is American, she has the distinction of having Johnny Cash as her Step-Father, she's now 57, how time flies, she made this disc in 1993, the photographs are great, one of the reasons i was attracted to the album, showing a picture of Carter on the front, i guess a fairly wide angle lens, as her lower half tapers off, the theme of course is on the 'letters', and it shows stamps throughout, with franked dates, i love the strong blue against the washed out white.
Almost all of these tracks i really loved, 1-6, 8-9 & 12, at times this music can bring tears to my eyes, it was tracks 3 & 12 that really hit the spot, two upbeat and faster songs, here's my thoughts on both,
3 Wastin' Time With You - This quickly became my favourite track on the album, very much piano driven [Benmont Tench], and i guess a Honky Tonk rhythm, with Carter's husky growl in the appropriate places, the bridge into the third verse is great, and there's a low key organ in the background, the outro is all piano, a nice intense ending, it's the overall rhythm of the whole thing that gets me, it gives a great buzz.
12 Hallelujah In My Heart - A Gospel song i guess, but a sort of BlueGrass HoeDown sort of thing, like you would get in Country dancing, lots of banjo and mandolin, and fiddle in the second verse, and a beat that is not driven by drums, but rather by a chorus of hand-clappers, as you would get in Square Dancing, the dancers standing around encouraging those who are involved in the action, it's the chorus which is so infectious, the harmonies are tremendous, and the backing singers complement Carter so perfectly, not merely boosting volume, but they sing different enough for there to be a sort of terracing of voices, it's so very good, the lyrics are about a sinner getting saved, and there's a sort of gospel revivalism about the whole thing.
Carlene Carter is American, she has the distinction of having Johnny Cash as her Step-Father, she's now 57, how time flies, she made this disc in 1993, the photographs are great, one of the reasons i was attracted to the album, showing a picture of Carter on the front, i guess a fairly wide angle lens, as her lower half tapers off, the theme of course is on the 'letters', and it shows stamps throughout, with franked dates, i love the strong blue against the washed out white.
Almost all of these tracks i really loved, 1-6, 8-9 & 12, at times this music can bring tears to my eyes, it was tracks 3 & 12 that really hit the spot, two upbeat and faster songs, here's my thoughts on both,
3 Wastin' Time With You - This quickly became my favourite track on the album, very much piano driven [Benmont Tench], and i guess a Honky Tonk rhythm, with Carter's husky growl in the appropriate places, the bridge into the third verse is great, and there's a low key organ in the background, the outro is all piano, a nice intense ending, it's the overall rhythm of the whole thing that gets me, it gives a great buzz.
12 Hallelujah In My Heart - A Gospel song i guess, but a sort of BlueGrass HoeDown sort of thing, like you would get in Country dancing, lots of banjo and mandolin, and fiddle in the second verse, and a beat that is not driven by drums, but rather by a chorus of hand-clappers, as you would get in Square Dancing, the dancers standing around encouraging those who are involved in the action, it's the chorus which is so infectious, the harmonies are tremendous, and the backing singers complement Carter so perfectly, not merely boosting volume, but they sing different enough for there to be a sort of terracing of voices, it's so very good, the lyrics are about a sinner getting saved, and there's a sort of gospel revivalism about the whole thing.
