Melissa Carper: Daddy's Country Gold
Photo by Aisha Golliher
If there ever was an album born to be sentimentally spun on warm, black vinyl, Melissa Carper’s Daddy’s Country Gold is it. Ethereal vocals draped leisurely over a stand up bass line puts listeners in the mood to tenderly twirl around the kitchen with their beau as in days of old. From the first track of “Makin’ Memories” to the last haunted notes of “The Stars Are Aligned,” nostalgic notes comprised of classic country, western swing and jazz seem to waft in from the early 20th century, carried in on the shoulders of Melissa Carper, a protégé of sorts of the great Jimmie Rogers and Patsy Cline. The album’s conception stems from a mixture of Carper’s own upbringing in her family’s band and years spent busking through the nation’s music hubs, forming notable musical collaborations like The Carper Family, Sad Daddy, and Buffalo Gals along the way. Carper, dubbed “Daddy” by bandmates in years past for always knowing how to take care of “‘bidness,” has in this collection a true testament to what magic can happen when an artist not only has a clear inner vision, but also the wherewithal to carry it forth to fruition.
The lilting trills of Carper wax in, casually genuine, as she plucks along on the stand up bass. The dulcet lyrics are quilted into a fabric comprised of the understated bass line of Dennis Crouch, the comforting moan of Chris Scruggs’ pedal steel and rhythm guitar, the prairie saloon style ivory keys of Jeff Taylor, the rosined up fiddle playing of Billy Contreras, Matt Meyers dictating the sway of the wagon train on drums, and the guest accompaniments of Lloyd Green, Brennen Leigh, and Sierra Ferrell. Recorded live to tape at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Carper entrusted the co-production of this vintaged endeavor to Producer/Engineer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes/Margo Price) and the afore-mentioned Dennis Crouch.
Cleverly simplistic lyrics enhance rather than outshine the instrumental architecture of each tune, with the first track, “Makin’ Memories,” setting the tone and candor of the entire album. Never does any track stray; never is Carper’s vision lost; never is the warm, yesteryear vibe hijacked. Whimsical humor takes center stage in “Would You Like to Get Some Goats,” while most tracks present themselves wonderfully contradictory, as most classic country did and should. The tunes are both wistful and ponderous, bittersweet and uplifting, humorous and forlorn. My stand out track might be “I’m Musing You,” which contains the line, “Let’s get together next time we’re born,” a simple yet heavy admission that love yearned for oftentimes can never be this side of heaven. The old soul collusion of like-minded artists serves to coax the listener starry-eyed through felted speakers and over antiquated airwaves, into the space in time that modern music forgot. Modern music, yes, but fortunately Carper and her talented associates did not.
Look for the LP to be released in its entirety March 19th. Melissa appears live on Facebook every Monday at 6 pm CT. You can find her album available to order at https://lnk.to/daddyscountrygold.
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