Customer Reviews

Ebony & Irony

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've written numerous reviews of Tracy Nelson CDs for Amazon.com and elsewhere. A true believer, I have long felt the need to get the word out about this great but sorely underappreciated singer. There are few artists out there who rival her in terms of soulfulness or power. She is also something of a perfectionist and has, resultantly, often downplayed the quality of her previous releases. One critic once noted that she almost never actively promoted her own recordings on stage, and that seems to have been true for the most part. At most I think I've heard her introduce a song in concert with a passing remark like, "This one's from the new record." And I'd think, "OK, Tracy, tell the folks what the NAME of the record is! They don't ALL scour the stores like I do for anything with your name on it." When I heard that she was extremely happy with this CD, naturally I got excited. As you can see by her own comments below, she is eager to get the word out on this one (and for people to get the title right too--it's shown up in more than one listing as "Ebony & Ivory"). How "ironic" to have potential sales of this wonderful record possibly scuttled by a typo.

I received my autographed copy of E&I a week ago and have been playing it virtually non-stop since. As a fan, I love almost all of her recorded works, but I can readily understand why this recording is special to the artist herself. Tracy has never sounded better. She sounds truly energized and committed. From the first track ("You Will Find Me There") on, I could hear playful twists in the phrasing that I've never heard her do before. And some of the tracks, e.g. Mose Allison's jazz standard "How Much Truth," provide whole new ground for this brilliant vocalist to explore. She pulls it all off with aplomb. Some performers make a big deal about "reinventing" themselves by changing their image every now and then. Tracy Nelson reinvents herself with each new song. And ultimately, with her, it's all about the singing.

I understand why one of the previous reviewers and some other fans might be a little put off by the eclecticism displayed on this album. Nelson has never ever been a one-genre artist however. It is true that her last label seemed to want her to focus mainly on blues-based material, and it's understandable why. She sings the blues with astonishing power and conviction--but it is not all that she's about. As with Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur and the recently re-surfaced Judy Henske, Nelson is beyond any one musical genre. Her eclecticism is a deeply rooted and genuine one, however. It's clear that she's not just out to put on a variety show.

Every track on this CD presents us with a different side of this great singer. She teams up once again with old buddy and former label mate, Marcia Ball for the rollicking "Got A New Truck" and graciously acknowledges a new generation of emerging talent by recording the songs of young artists like Bekka Bramlett (Bonnie and Delaney's daughter) and her Tennessee neighbor Alice Newman, whom she's known since she (Alice) was a child. The latter song, the beautiful "Last Chance" is given an Irish folkie treatment and is just haunting.

It's important to stress that the end result is not a mere grab bag of styles: it is a reflection of a complex artist who has come into her own and who will hopefully finally get the audience she deserves.

I have been following Tracy Nelson and her career with interest for over 20 years. She has consistantly produced album after album of high quality material, although for some odd reason the woman is not a superstar.

I say this because her voice compares favorably with just about any other pop, blues, country or R & B artist you can name, yet she has never been a household word (yes, she has recorded in all these genres, and more). She has promised since this album was canned two years ago that it would be the crowning achievement in her 30+ year career. She does not disappoint.

Any fan of any singer will make the same claim about their favorite artist, which is understandable. But if you take any one of Ms. Nelson's vocals and compare them to anybody else out there, I guarantee you will see what I mean. No one can match her for power, emotion or sheer artistry. The problem is that she has never been true to any one style (the true mark of a genius) and so is frquently ignored by those who don't know how to label her music. Her records all leave you with the feeling that she sings and records purely for the joy of singing; for this she is both refreshing and exciting. As others have remarked, in a world where fashion statements are commonly mistaken for musical artistry, she hold her head high above those whose sole consideration is their own desire to be rich and famous. As for the contents of this album, one listen to "EVEN NOW" "STRONGEST WEAKNESS" or any of the other tracks will tell you all you need to know. I own all of Ms. Nelson's other 20 releases, and this CD has quickly risen to the top of my favorite list.

If you have no other Tracy Nelson, get this album. If you think that taste, artistry or originality is dead you owe it to yourself to check it out. She will become one of your favorite singers, or I'll eat my hat.

Tracy Nelson is among a handfull of artists for whom style, class and talent are one and the same. Few artists can lay claim to the fact that they are still around after almost four decades and are still making the kind of music that they want to make yet, for many of those years, Nelson has not had the kind of mass appeal that she has so richly deserved. In spite of this, Nelson has somehow managed to emerge with her integrity intact and has created a place where she can make the kind of music that matters.

In many ways, this CD brings Nelson full circle in that it is reminiscent of her early career in its earthy approach and simple straightforward arrangements. At the same time, when compared to her early work, it also demonstrates how her ability to remain flexible over the years has enabled her to continue to grow as an artist.

In this flexibility, seen in the earth-toned gospel sound of "You Will Find Me There" to the funkiness of "Strongest Weakness" to the joyride of "I Got A New Truck" - all sung with a heartfelt love of the blues - Nelson stays close to her roots while at the same time reminding us of how much influence the blues has had on virtually every genre of American music. In this way, Nelson has emerged as an ambassador of American Roots Music and through her obvious love of this music she has become one of its strongest champions.

As this disk clearly points out, Nelson's voice has always been a voice full of color and texture. Nowhere is this sentiment better expressed than in the song "Even Now" in which the sadness and regret, along with the world weary resignation of Nelson's voice in all its understated power, seems to draw the listener inside the song's emotional feelings of loss and longing with a poignancy that lingers long after the last note is gone. On Mose Allison's "How Much Truth" the combination of anger and detachment in Nelson's voice can almost be tasted as she recounts what it is like to have to face a world where life is often lived on the dark side of regret is chilling in its truthfulness.

Perhaps most fittingly the CD ends with a song from the Gene Autry/western movie era. The song, "Silent Trail" somehow seems to sum up the feeling of the whole disk - that although Nelson's trail of life has taken her on some rough spots she still has that sense of free-spiritedness and irony that makes life worth living and that sometimes it is best just to let fly with whatever you are feeling and hope it all comes out for the best.

Those who tend to place boundaries on the music they hear may find Nelson's genre switching groove of blues to funk to jazz to country a bit unsettling, but I feel that it is just this sort of courage coupled with her "shoot it from the hip" attitude that has made her music stand up over the years. For those of us who have been with her throughout, there is no doubt that she will be remembered as one of the great singers of her generation. To finally get to hear a recording in which she has the courage to let her free-spiritedness run free is welcome indeed.

I would simply like to point out that the title of my new record is "Ebony and IRONY", not Ebony and Ivory. Some bonehead far down on the distribution food chain typed it in wrong and we've been trying to get it corrected ever since. Either title I love this record. Tracy Nelson

Tracy Nelson's voice is a force of nature, and with this 2001 CD, she keeps on delivering the goods. From "Strongest Weakness," a powerful ode to someone who's simply too good to resist, to "Got a New Truck," a playful, rolling anthem that was actually used as the theme to a popular automotive radio call-in show, Tracy stabs each song through the heart and soul with her patented delivery. For fans of real singers (though the curious are welcome to investigate). The real stuff.

I am one of the few privileged individual who has enjoyed the talents and grace of Tracy Nelson's vocals and song selection for over 30 years. Move over Janis Joplin and Sarah Vaughn. You have met your match and she be Tracy Nelson!

This latest album, Ebony and Irony, exceeded my expectations, which were already quite high. Nelson has a song as rich as a dark brewed cup of coffee and as smooth as silk.

Her choice of songs on this latest album are steller and ecclectic. From blues to show tunes to Irish ballads, Nelson wraps her voice effortlessly around the heartbreak and joy of each lyric and lifts it to new heights as no other vocalist can.

If you are already familiar with the history of Tracy Nelson's solo career, this album will not disappoint. If you have not given her a listen, do not hesitate to take this one home. You will become an instant fan.

NOTE: Thank goodness someone had the good sense to re-release Tracy Nelson's wonderful self titled CD last year with "Slow Fall" and "After the Fire is Gone" as well as numerous other gems. If only this artist would get the kudos and noteriety she so richly deserves. Perhaps this latest release will do just that.

--Carol Sveilich San Diego

Other reviewers have painted a fine image of the content of this landmark release. Let me just pass on to you my impressions as I had intended to do several years ago(!).

Wow. Just wow. Tracy and I sang folk music together way back in the day. (We go all the way back to kindergarten.) I have been a very big fan of her live and recorded performances throughout her career. But as someone with intimate knowledge of her talent and potential, I had frequently felt that the incredible range and qualities of her wonderful voice failed to shine through poor production of her recorded material and that a narrow focus in song selection would often not allow her audience to fully appreciate her stuff (as in a baseball pitcher's "stuff"). I told her so when we last met up, back in 1997, hoping she'd take my comments as caring, constructive criticism. It really pi**ed her off - "Do you know what it costs to produce a Bonnie Raitt album?!..." - etc. But I think, just maybe, that the gist of the conversation may have stuck as an annoying bit of subconscious motivation that helped promote the quality of this wonderful achievement.

Listening for the first time to the copy of Ebony & Irony I received from her was a powerful emotional trip.

It's a shame that the two reviewers who would seem fans of Tracy's but gave E&I less than 5 stars appear to have done so largely for lack of appreciation of the qualities that underlie its brilliance. I can only suggest that they reread and take in Tracy's own words in her liner notes.

Tracy proves she can still belt one out. I think the best song on the CD by far is "Even Now", which I feel could be successful as a country and/or adult contemprary single, even though it is primarily blues. The quality reminds me of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me", which was also a big hit. I also love "You Will Find Me There" and "Still Not Out of the Woods". My only criticism of the CD is that when I'm in the mood for blues, then I want blues and only blues. The sudden intrusion of one jazz song, "How Much Truth", and one western song, "Silent Trail" was very jarring to me. I hate to keep comparing to Bonnie Raitt, but do any of you remember Bonnie Raitt's first album, "Home Plate"? The whole thing was bluesy until the very last song, which was a hillbilly folk song that did not fit with the rest of the record. That's what this is like. In the liner notes, Tracy admits she was being self-indulgent and singing whatever she wanted to, regardless of the type of music it would be categorized as, and she does a great job on all of it, as always. Just be forewarned if you don't like your styles mixed! She still has the best voice, period, and the CD is well worth buying.

The good news is that Tracy Nelson still has the range and power in her voice and delivery. The bad news is that once again, the songs and arrangements of this collection simply don't match the unmistakable, incomparable magic that for me was last found in

"Temptation Took Control Of Me And I Fell."

Not since her golden days with Mother Earth, her solo "Country" album, and a few tracks soon thereafter has Ms. Nelson managed to come up with a set of tracks that, in their melodies, lyrics and especially arrangements, can hark back to the Tracy of that era.

In those earlier works, she could break my heart with a mournful wail or set it thumping out of control with a kickass gospel romp.

I listened to this new CD many, many times trying to find the qualities described in the earlier reviews, but alas, it didn't click for me. For those who don't apply the same standard of measurement to Ms. Nelson's work as I do, this is certainly a reasonably good CD and a fair representation of her performance skills.

If you're an old-timer like me and looking for the Tracy of "Down So Low" or "Mother Earth" or "Need Your Love So Bad," I don't think you'll find it here. But keep hoping. Tracy, I know it's out there somewhere, and I know you'll find it again.