CD Review: Greta Gaines "Whiskey Thoughts" (Justice)
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One might be tempted to view Gaines and her parents as dilettantes,
were they not so successful at their startling wide range of talents.
Gaines' father is a novelist and screen writer ("Pumping Iron" and
"Stay Hungry") and the inventor of paintball, her mother is an artist
and former Miss Alabama, and Gaines herself racked up a pro snowboard
title before moving to Nashville in the mid-90s, pursued music, landed
a deal, had an album lost in record company mergers, released her
works independently, and earned touring slots with Tori Amos and
Alanis Morissette. Her success as a snowboarder led to hosting slots
with MTV and Oxygen (including the purpose-built "Free Ride" on the
latter), and finally ESPN2. She's placed her music in films and even
acted in Ethan Hawke's "The Hottest State." A second indie release
garnered a touring slot with Sheryl Crow, and then a third indie
release. Starting to feel like an underachiever? Did I mention she's
also banged out two kids?
This fourth release, the first with major distribution, will be her
introduction to most listeners, and thus will be surprising in its
confidence and polish. The indie releases provided Gains opportunities
to woodshed in the studio and songwriter's room, and she emerged with
more focus than one typically hears in their first exposure to an
artist. Her earlier dalliances with electronica on 2006's "Can't Kill
the Flavor" overwhelmed Gaines' earthy southern rock and country core;
here they're voiced more as production polish on the edges. The easy
comparison, given Gaines' seamless blending of rock, country, folk and
soul flavorings is her previous tourmate Crow. But where Crow's lyrics
often seem like vapid rhymes plucked from a dictionary, Gaines only
wields "vapid" in the sharp-tongued kiss-off "L is For Loser." The
rollicking girl's-party sing-along highlights a more fitting vocal
comparison to Nashville singer-songwriter Matraca Berg, and you can
also hear hints of Sweetwater's Nancy Nevins throughout the album.
The guitar-and-drums production backing Gaines is fittingly punchy.
The bass-heavy rhythm of the title track is a perfect opener, with
Gaines singing melodically over the riffing guitars, briefly dropping
into a processed vocal that adds a subconscious annotation. Similarly,
"Braggart" opens with power chords and pounding drums to accompany a
half-spoken, half-hollered blues rock - this would certainly get the
blood pumping as you dropped into a half-pipe for your first run at
Winter X. Though she's a rocker, Gaines has other speeds. The organ-
lined duet with Raul Malo, "Love is Twisted," is taken at a trot,
"Falling James" is dark and languid in the vein of Austin singer
Patricia Vonne, and the "Willie Waltz" is a gentle dance. Gaines'
website quotes her as saying, "I started out to show the world that
women can represent in non-traditional sports such as snowboarding and
fly-fishing and have a career singing and songwriting at the same
time." Given her strength in all these endeavors, it's hard to imagine
anyone ever thought to tell her that women couldn't do all that at
once. There's no need to qualify Gaines' music as "good for a
snowboarder," it's just good. Very good. [(c)2008 redtunictroll at
hotmail dot com]