Jessi Colter
Out of the Ashes
The press release for Jessi Colter's comeback album dismisses the opener, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," as a "perfunctory blessing." But although Colter's more earthy than ethereal on Out of the Ashes, the title provides a clue to a theme of rebirth. "Out of the Rain" even resurrects Waylon Jennings, who rejoins his old partner via an old vocal track; the result sounds eerily--and appropriately--unfinished. Colter also rebirths Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & #35," scrubbing it totally clean of druggy double-entendres but still keeping it real.
Producer Don Was keeps things stripped-down, almost demo-like, with solid, unremarkable backing, allowing Colter's humanity to glow. "Sparrow" reveals a passion that's almost too naughty for the choir loft, one that's played out in "You Can Pick 'Em," where the outlaw-country legend, now living in Arizona, geographically catalogs someone's exes: "There was one from Texas/Oh she made you squall/But the one from Arizona left you no soul at all." This must be the same demon-woman who sings ominously, in the provocatively imagistic "The Canyon," "It's a long way down the canyon/Only the stars would see you fall."
Harp, Mar/Apr 2006
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