Iris DeMent [My Life] 

This was a great disc to buy, one of those purchases where i was purposely trying to branch out into new genres, trying to get away from the usual stuff i always get, i would certainly classify this as Country first, but it also has elements of American Folk and Gospel, she has a real southern twang to her voice, she comes from Arkansas originally, and she was influenced by old time hymns in the Church she grew up in, so there's a lovely Gospel flavoured subject to things, maybe not necessarily religious in words, but in her observations and themes, for someone not exposed to DeMent, the first time listening to this album might give a strong indication of negative things, certainly death and sin, and regret and purposelessness, but i find it very positive and upbeat, that through the hard times there's fortitude to stand tall, in the title track DeMent laments, 'My life, it's tangled in wishes, and so many things that just never turned out right', it's a real theme of the album, it's certainly very realistic looking, instead of kidding ourselves that life's one happy go lucky round of good memories, this disc also appeared in my Blog in 2010 [25th May 2010].

Iris DeMent is American, she's now 51, she recorded this disc in 1994, the front cover photo [by Kelley McCall] is a bit naive, a photograph made to look like in a photo album, and a theme throughout the booklet, using old photo's of DeMent, like the one on the back.

It was tracks 4-6 that were superb, and i guess it's the middle one that hit me the most, called 'No Time To Cry', each of the three verses deals with a tragedy, whether it's her Father dying, an ambulance siren, or the bad news on the television, the 'solution' is to keep busy, life has a tendency to make you cynical, you're older and you just haven't got time to cry, a very acoustic song, her voice really shines out of the instrumentation, she plays acoustic guitar herself, the verses are great, dripping with sadness, and when the chorus comes in, there's an upbeat determination and fortitude to stubbornly endure, her voice rises into a major key, it's a great moment each time the chorus comes in, in the last verse the instrumentation quietens down, and it enhances her voice, and of course it heightens the power of the song when the instruments comes back in with force later in the verse, also i love the way DeMent treats the outro, she ad-libs 'no time to cry' three times, you can hear the way she accentuates things differently, a great way to finish a great song, one of her greatest compositions.

Here's Iris DeMent singing 'No Time To Cry' on YouTube.

Diane Birch [Bible Belt] 

This is the third time that this album appears in my Blog [15th January 2010 & 9 June 2011], a great little 'Gospel' album shall we say, certainly her religious upbringing influenced her style, it's a swampy organ / piano bluesy album, her voice is wonderful with great range and impromptu ideas off the cuff, but best of all she's a Singer / Songwriter, creating her own mini masterpieces, it's a great little album, i delved into her when she was fairly unknown.

Diane Birch is 29, an American, surprisingly she only has one real album to her credit, even though i hear there's a second coming out soon, she recorded this album in 2009, the front cover is truly superb and inspired [photo by Melodie McDaniel], a close up head shot in black and white, those eyes are mesmerizing, and the highlights are superb, her fringe over her eyes almost, and in the background on the right you can see her trademark black hat, the lettering could have been better if it was larger, but it's a nigh perfect album cover.

Here's Diane Birch singing Ariel on YouTube.

Dianne Birch [Bible Belt]

What an album!, this is her debut, and she's hit the jackpot on first strike, the whole album is drenched in Gospel, and is permeated with Soul and Blues too, she's a Keyboardist, so the album is piano / organ driven, and what a voice she's got!, very versatile indeed, she sounds like a Black Soul Singer at times, she learned a lot from her religious upbringing, you can almost hear the Gospel choirs on this disc, if she improves on her next album, it's gonna be a killer, she'll be 27 in a few days.

I bought this disc on Ebay for £1, i was attracted to the booklet cover, yes my eyes listen and picks what i buy!, and then my ears get to make the final choice, it's a very varied album.

My favourite tracks that moved me the most are 5-6, 8 & 10, the middle of the album is strongest, so far my favourite track is Ariel, though that could change on next listen, Diane Birch plays the keys, and with only a small group of musicians she gets maximum power and feeling, the chorus is sooo catchy, you get that catch in your throat feeling, she effortlessly gets through chord and key changes in voice and tune, and her voice easily improvises, she has that knack of subtly varying her phrasing, so that the way she sings things differently, is the only way it should be sung.

Here's Diane Birch singing Ariel on YouTube.