Album: Velvet Sky / Artist: Autumn / 12 tracks /
Country - Americana
I
popped the CD into the drive and the first few bars of, “Rain Down,” rolled
out, I was soon reaching for the CD liner notes, and thinking, who is this
woman? Her name is Autumn and she may be the best female country singer to
come our way since Carrie Underwood. I know I may catch some flack (smile)
from my good friend Kissy Black at Lotus Nile Media, because they have billed
Autumn as an Americana artist, which tends to broaden her market, but it is
difficult to listen to the CD Velvet Sky, without thinking of her as a
country singer / songwriter. In particular, “Rain Down,” possesses a similar
lilt to that iconic singer of cowboy tunes, George Strait’s, “Amarillo By
Morning.” The song, “Rain Down,” also possesses a gospel-influenced chorus, to
which Tina Mitchell Wilkins, Walt Wilkins, Kristi Grider, John Greenberg, John
Small and John Grider, lend their vocals.
The third track on Velvet Sky, “We Made The Spirits Move,” is a beautiful love ballad. It was penned by Walt Wilkins and Liz Rose, and Wilkins joins Autumn for a tender duet. Danny Flowers serves up a gorgeous and sensitive electric guitar bridge.
The production quality on Velvet Sky is breathtaking, as the musicians play lush arrangements that perfectly compliment, not compete with Autumn’s vocals or each other. The CD was recorded by Bill McDermott at Dog Den Studios in Nashville, Ron Flynt at Jumping Dog Studio, in Austin, and Pat Manske at The Zone, in Dripping Springs, Texas. McDermott did the mixing and Austin’s Jerry Tubb mastered the album.
Micky Grimm’s shakers are ever present in, “Trains I Missed,” a confession of mistakes made, but also the grateful realization that the singer has found her way back to a better place, and she is going to hold tight to what she now has. You have to listen to this song, I mean really listen to the words, to understand the message, and the stripped down instrumentals allow you to do so.
This is a time in America when there are a lot of people who are hurting, and if you are one of those people, you may identify with the echoes of, “Trains I Missed,” “It’s a big ‘ol world / but I found my way / From the hell and the hurt / That led me straight to this / Here’s to the trains I missed.” Your hurt and your pain may not be of your own doing, and even if it was, and you have turned your life around, take hope in the words, “Here’s to this place I found / This love I know / The sky and the ground / That I call home / Here’s to the things I believe / Bigger than me / And the moments I find myself / Right where I am meant to be.” I do not know what inspired Walt Wilkins, Nicole Witt and Gilles Goddard to author this tune, or which one of the three served as the lyricist, but this song will either move you to tears or to a prayer of thanks, maybe both. There is a term that is more commonly used in association with jazz vocalists, and it is called phrasing, which describes the ability of the singer to deliver line by line, the depth and the emotional sensitivity to a phrase or to a word that was originally intended by the songwriter. Throughout this album, Autumn’s phrasing is impeccable.
There are so many talented singers and musicians who appear on this CD that the mere mentioning of another prompts pangs of guilt for possibly overlooking another. For instance, on the title track, “Velvet Sky,” the keyboards are beautiful and it is a pity that we cannot tell from the liner notes, if on this track we owe that pleasure to Autumn or Dennis Wage, both of whom play on the album. Mike Daly creates a beautiful and subtle plaintive voice with as the chords of his steel guitar resonate in the background. Tina Mitchell Wilkins gifts us with her pretty vocals as she joins Autumn in a duet.
Other highlights to listen for include, “Sunny,” a song about the hurting side of love, and a tune which bears the same name as Autumn’s sister, and there is more broken down love, as Autumn covers Patty Griffin’s, “Nobody’s Cryin’,” during the reflective, “Paint,” cellist Tim Lorsch gifts us with his gentle bowing. The steel guitar driven, “Higher,” nods to Autumn’s Oklahoma roots.
Space did not permit us to pay proper attention to Dave Jacques (bass guitar / upright bass), Fats Kaplin (accordion), Gene Rabbi (oboe on “Paint”), Ryan Turner who sang a duet with Autumn on, “Eagles,” and Sam Baker who was the other half of the duet on, “Lessons Never Learned.”
Autumn should be nominated in the Best New Artist category, for a Country Music Award. That is our view for what it is worth. If you appreciate, well-crafted songs and you want to be the first person on your block or in your social group to say that you own a CD, by the next big star in, whether you want to call it Country or Americana music then you should already be planning to purchase Velvet Sky.
Listen to Autumn's music here: http://www.autumnonline.com/
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Reviewed October 2008
