Customer Reviews

Jukebox Sparrows

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Driving on a Woodstock back road with my windows down, an exquisite sunset invited me to pull over and gasp. There we were... me, a delicious summer meadow and Shannon McNally blaring from the speakers. Yep, life is good.
It's McNally's task in life to provide that on-the-porch-in-a-hammock-swing-with-a-Mint-Julep-on-a-balmy-evening kind of mood. Or here's a drink for ya: two parts Bonnie Raitt, two parts Sheryl Crow, one part Edie Brickell and one part Rickie Lee Jones. Shake. Serve with potato fritters under a cajun moon. Okay, so Shannon McNally is an ex-model, but big whoop. There's nothing particularly precious about her and she doesn't deliver 20-something pop crap. With her smoky vox and a laid back bluesy vibe that's slithery, gritty and gutsy, this 27-year-old Long Island native is a coffeehouse owner's dream. Check out her newly released 11-song debut, Jukebox Sparrows, for some good ole blues abandon.
Apparently, some industry goons think this singer-songwriter should be doing the Alanis Morrisette thing with her all-American, wite-girl good looks. Figures. But McNally feels more at home with the J.J. Cale/ Ry Cooder crowd, and her music should be played in a dimly lit bar with a sticky floor. Loudly. She uses seasoned players on this recording: James Gadson (Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye), Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Ry Cooder), Bob Glaub (Linda Rondstadt, B.B. King), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty), and Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell), and the result is mid-tempo slide guitar tunes, piano ballads, and earthy roots rock that is easily digestible and hard to dislike. There's nothing too complicated about the way this album feels, and even through production is slick, it's funny how it still winds up sounding organic. These ultra-strong melodies and ample hooks will no doubt provide McNally with wide appeal and great success (and those appearances on Letterman and Conan O'Brien probably didn't hurt either).
"There's nothing wrong with a good hook," says McNally. "There's nothing wrong with a three-and-a-half minute song that you can't stop whistling or humming." Amen to that.
McNally is in the midst of a summer tour with John Mellencamp but was benevolent enough to stop at Woodstock's Colony Cafe on July 19. We sure needed it. No beer or hammocks required; her music provides it all.
Sharon Nichols, Music Editor, Chronogram.com

I first saw Shannon when she played with The Girls Room tour and I picked up her EP with the promise that "full-length Cd coming soon", well almost a year went by and still no word on "jukebox sparrows"...well here it is, finally. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like the record company demanded Shannon "rework" her sound or anything like that and this cd was definatly worth waiting for.
She's been compared to everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Stevie Nicks (in vocal stylings), but Shannon has her own persona rising into alternative rock to contemporary country to blues rock. ALl these sounds mesh very well on the cd, the pop "Now that I know" and the twangy "Start All Over" (my favorite) are great examples of Shannon's wide-spread influences. Her lyrics are simple and straight forward in the great blues style of just "saying what you mean" but there's always a mystery in her voice. Now that this cd is out, I can only hope the next batch of songs don't take as long but then again, I know I'll receive quality music when it finally hits my cd player.

After hearing 'Down and Dirty' on the radio, I wanted to hear more and decided that, after hearing the entire album, 'Down and Dirty' was just the tip of the iceberg as far as the rest of the album is concerned. Loved every track and want more!

I love folk-style rock original music and Shannon McNally does just that in Jukebox Sparrow. Familiar because it resonates Bonnie Raitt but origianl because of the interesting and sometimes powerful lyrics written by McNally. Utimately mellow, I do enjoy more of the upbeat tics in the beginning of the album. But, most importantly, I enjoyed every song and that is saying a lot. I look forward to future albums and future growth of this artist.

By now, you've probably read a review or two of Shannon McNally's 'Jukebox Sparrows' album (already out for 1½ years at this point!), you've probably heard/read her being compared to Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow -- very good company indeed. I want to say that when I heard her first track 'Down and Dirty', I could have sworn I was listening to Joan Osborne -- again, this is a good thing. I had never heard of (or from) Shannon before, then was searching for information on Tinsley Ellis (blues guitar) and her(his?) name popped up, so I gave it a try.
Turns out this is one of those rare finds that makes you happy you found. I find myself listening to it over and over again, thinking about the tracks -- really loving it!

Now I just have to figure out why her name popped up when searching for Tinsley Ellis (is he one of the many excellent players on the album?).

OnLookER 7/15/03

I've been a big fan of Maria McKee's gorgeous voice since the Lone Justice days, and occasionally I will type her name into amazon's search engine to see if she's come up with anything new. On my most recent attempt to find some new Maria CDs, I discovered the amazing Shannon McNally. I knew from listening to samples and reading the reviews which compared her to some of my other favorites (Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks) that I'd like the CD. The biggest thrill is that I LOVE it! While I hesitate to compare anyone to the great Maria McKee, Shannon comes closer than anyone I've ever heard. Her voice is bluesy, earthy, angelic, soulful, emotional, and just plain beautiful. She soars and glides and gets "down & dirty" in a way that calls to mind many other singers, but is unique and very captivating. She had a hand in writing all of the songs on this CD, and, while it's impossible for me to choose a favorite, "Bitter Blue" and "Now That I Know" stand out. But all of the songs are solid; there's no filler here. Then again, Shannon could sing the phone book and I would listen. Thankfully she has done more than that with this CD, and I am thrilled to have finally discovered a new singer to add to my list of favorites.

I purchased this CD because it was offered as a "duet" by amazon; i.e., buy Norah Jones AND Shannon Mcnally for only $.... It really should have been the other way around. Buy Shannon Mcnally AND Norah Jones, emphasis on McNally. She is Raitt, Nicks, Nyro, Mitchell and McNally all rolled into one. Jazzy, blue-grassy; her range is formidable and engaging. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. Isn't that how it is for the really good ones? Buy it, scrunch back into a comfortable chair or pillow and enjoy! Oh yes...

Shannon McNally's music seems both fresh and familiar. Her songs are reminiscent of some of the best in the blues/rock tradition, but her poetic lyrics and soulful delivery make this album worth listening to again and again.

Hey! Watch out Alanis Morrisette! Shannon McNally new album reveals a talented singer who has a gift of taking the essence of many of the greats and weaving them together with her own, poetic lyrics and interesting arrangements.

McNally's melange of blues, R&B, folk and rock quotes from her idols of song; in Now That I Know," McNally sounds eerily like Dylan while singing "It's all a dream until you figure it out/I couldn't hear myself thinking until I started to shout." Just when you think she's almost doing a parody of Dylan, she breaks out into high, pure notes of her own.

You can hear her pay homage to her favorites; clearly there's Sheryl Crowe, Bonnie Raitt, Alanis Morrisette, Stevie Nicks and others as well as of course, Dylan. Her blend of coffeehouse beatnik poetry with bitter-dissolutioned-90's-girl ballads and plain old blues is a promise of great things to come. If you love Alanis Morrisette, Raitt and Crowe, you will probably love this album. I did.

It's hard to describe this album. Her voice sounds a lot like Bonnie Raitt, but not as southern and a little less edgy. She also reminds me a lot of Dar Williams, especially DW's latest album ("Beauty of the Rain"). Definitely in the singer-songwriter realm, it's pop but not popular; country by a northerner; poetry with melody but also melody with words.

"Now That I Know" has a video and is clearly single-ish with a great hook and a modal-country flavoring; other songs are more jazz and classically influenced with intriguing chord progressions and great melodies. The first track ("Down and Dirty") is rather country-ish but opens with a flourish worthy of Tori Amos towards the "Choirgirl" era. The last song, the title track, is an Ani DiFranco-esque spoken-word and ostinato background piece. It may possibly be my favorite song on the album.

Her voice, other than being Bonnie-Raitt-ish, is fairly versatile; the sprechstimme (quasi-spoken-word) segments are husky, while other songs are haunting or achingly pure. The instrumentation is interesting, including exotic percussion, strings, sax, and organs in addition to the normal guitar-bass-drums setup. Multi-layered and multi-faceted, this album is worth several listens.

The one thing that annoyed me was that the liner notes didn't include lyrics; rather they included pieces from them in some sort of poetic form. While intriguing, it wasn't as useful.

She's opening for Rufus Wainwright on his Winter 2004 (current) tour, so one may have an opportunity to see her live. Fans of anyone mentioned above should be interested.