Customer Reviews

Finding Our Way

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I was raised on country music, but I can't stand to listen to country radio anymore. The slick, bland production values and Hallmark Card lyrics are tiresome and uninspiring. Fortunately, the Mickeys, with their debut album, establish themselves as the exact opposite of that trend.

Spare instrumentation backs clean, clear vocal harmonies of twin sisters Amy and Julie Mickey, creating an uncluttered, folk-driven soundscape. Strong images like title images in "My Train" and the first single, "Smoke and Mirrors," create a lush poetic tone that more than makes up for the small production budget. Many songs, like "Dixie Wire" and "Old Kentucky Wind," have a tone that would be easily favored by anyone who prefers quality over a mass market appeal. And the song "Before You're Home" brings back one of the most neglected American story-song forms in recent history, the Civil War ballad.

There's a strong bluegrass root in this album that makes it more amenable to country's traditions than better-known acts like Terri Clark and Martina McBride. There are also strong threads of Okie folk and Celtic music that I wish radio country used more. Yet despite this use of traditional elements, the sound of the album is sufficiently distinct to establish the voice of the artists clearly from the first notes.

The album isn't faultless. The song "Dry Eyes" has a very preachy tone that doesn't sit well with the emotional tenor of the rest of the album, and there's a hidden track of somebody yelling "Yeeeeehaaa" that serves nothing artistic. I'd also like to see a little more linking the tracks: songs that are thematically unrelated butt against one another, requiring the listener to forcibly shift mindsets.

But when you compare this album to most of what's being played on the radio, and what's getting the publicity budget to be heard by a mass audience, this album stands head and shoulders above its competition. With its appeal to country, folk, and crossover audiences, it's an eminently listenable album. I look forward to finding out what the Mickeys will produce in the future.

I grew up listening to what was commonly called "chicken rock". It was an amalgam of rock 'n' roll, country, rockabilly, and folk, some of it with more pop influences. The Everly Brothers were probably the best exponent of that type of music, and with all that, they brought the "blood harmonies" of family church singing with it.

This new release, the debut recording of The Mickeys, is a refreshing return to that style of singing. Identical twins Julie and Amy Mickey, educated in the business side of the music industry as well as the production side, have put together one of the finest releases so far in 2003. Five of the eleven songs were either written or co-written by at least one of them, and they have adeptly chosen songs by other writers that show off their best asset...their voices. "Smoke And Mirrors" could easily be done by Martina McBride with much more substantial instrumentation, but the spare, acoustic arrangements of most of the album allows the lyrics not only to be understood, but absorbed. "Before You're Home", written by both Amy and Julie with Tom Rogers, reminds you of older Holly Dunn arrangements, and "My Train" could have easily ended up on an Alan Jackson album.

I've had a copy of this disc on my car stereo for the last week. I don't intend to stop listening to it for a good long while.

Buy this disc. I think you're going to like it...a lot!!!

This disc is a wonderful blend of country, folk, and bluegrass. It's one of those albums where the more you listen to it, the more you enjoy it. We find ourselves playing it over and over as we travel around. It reminds us of Alison Krauss' later solo efforts which combine strong vocals, expert instrumentation, and a nice, flowing musical experience.

This is a great first release, which makes us look forward to the next. We wish there were more already available. Take a look at their site as well. ...

Buy this disc. You won't be disapointed.