Customer Reviews

Twang on a Wire

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Any country fan glancing at the track listing might think they've heard it all (or at least most of it) before, yawn, and look elsewhere for something more interesting. What a mistake that would be. Kate provides extensive liner notes for this album in which she explains that these were the songs that she listened to - and sang along to - when she was learning to play the guitar. Kate provides notes for each song, explaining why they appealed to her originally and how her own version differs.

The basic difference between these songs and the original, often lush Nashville productions is that these versions (as Kate puts it) are pretty raw with a kind of combo/drum sound. Thus, some of them actually sound more country than the originals.

Kate's musicians on this album are Jeff Finlin (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Kevin Gordon (acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals, also duet vocals on Mississippi woman Louisiana man), Will Kimbrough (acoustic and electric guitars, dobro, mandolin, piano, accordion, Wurlitzer, banjo, backing vocals) and Jay Zdad (electric and acoustic guitars, lap steel, harmonica). Tricia Walker provides further backing vocals.

So if you're thinking that you've heard enough of Rose garden (Lynn Anderson), Mississippi woman Louisiana man (Conway and Loretta), Would you lay with me in a field of stone (Tanya Tucker), Down from Dover, Touch your woman (both originally recorded by Dolly Parton), Funny face (Donna Fargo), Till I can make it on my own (Tammy Wynette), Honey on his hands, Satin sheets (both originally recorded by Jeanne Pruett), Boulder to Birmingham (Emmylou), Harper Valley PTA (Jeannie C Riley) and Help me make it through the night (it was Sammi Smith's American hit version that inspired Kate), you may be surprised by what's here. And to round it all off, Kate wrote and recorded the title track that reflects her feelings about the songs and the women who recorded them.

Whether you remember the originals fondly or used to like them but have grown tired of them, this album should appeal to you. If you are, by some chance, not familiar with these songs, well, now's your chance to hear them.

This album will please casual country music fans from the mid '60s to the late '70s, but it will be a rare and wonderful discovery for those who didn't particularly care for "the Nashville Sound" typical of the time, but really later came to love country music. The music is very well produced, but sparsely produced (that is, not a lot of "lush production").

Kate's interpretations of these classics make the songs far better than the originals.

For example, though I admire EmmyLou Harris and think that her song "Boulder to Birmingham" is truly excellent, Kate Campbell's cover has more maturity and feeling, and is an altogether better recording, a more intimate recording of a very intimate song.

Kate's sole original composition on the album "Twang on a Wire" is very enjoyable and demonstrates that she has a rare and unusual understanding of what made the songs of others she covered to be great songs.

A Note about my enjoyment of Kate's music to help you see where I'm coming from. I've enjoyed her folk music, but I think of this as perhaps her best achievement.

I'm a fan of Kate Campbell and have most of her records. In my opinion, doing covers of well known hit songs is best left to those with incredible singing voices - M. McBride, Carrie Underwood, etc. I think Kate Campbell's greatness comes from her songwriting, not the singing. Plus, she doesn't bring anything stylistically to the songs to make these recordings special. The title song is an original and is very good.