Back in the 60’s Nashville country music was feeling the pressure from honky-tonk hits coming out of Bakersfield, and from the blues-rock edge the Brits were putting on pop. So the A-list producers decided to replace the fiddle and steel guitar with orchestra strings and the nasally vocals with polished choruses. The resultant sound became the standard for country music for over a decade. Los Angeles artist Grey DeLisle and producer Marvin Etzioni decided to take a page out of that book for Grey’s latest record, The Grey Album. It also marks a triumphant return to music for in-demand voice-over talent DeLisle after a serious bout of stage fright kept her away from live audiences.
Although it drops a lot of pins on the spectrum, you can catalog this as a mix of roots rock and country with that aforementioned strings influence. Anchoring the country side of things is Daddy Can You Fix A Broken Heart. It’s the sorrowful tale of trying to explain divorce to a young child set to a sound right at home on a classic Tammy or Loretta album. Don’t Let Go Of My Hand is another old school country song, bittersweet in it’s recollection of DeLisle’s grandmother, from the first day of second grade to the turnabout when it’s Grey providing the comfort to her ailing hero. A Promise I Can’t Keep is a simple country shuffle featuring, like several songs on the project, Greg Leisz on pedal steel. The Last Last Time is a serious honky-tonker about giving someone another chance.
Over on the rock and roll side, the chronological start is Who To Love. It’s kind of doo-wop rock and features legendary drummer DJ Bonebrake on vibraphone. Sister Shook is one of the few songs without a string section in a rock ballad telling the story of an exorcism, something DeLisle witnessed as a child raised in a Pentecostal family. 40 Something Runaway features rock icon Cherie Currie as they sing the imaginary back story of a woman Grey saw in an airport. Somehow not seeming at all out of place is the Mexican ballad Mi Vida, probably the only Dia De Los Muertos song you’ll hear this year, with Bonebrake on his more customary drums.
In an era of shortened attention spans, Grey DeLisle is bucking the trend by flaunting her prolific song writing habit. The Grey Album consists of 20 songs; a good, old-fashioned double album for you vinyl fans. Drop the needle anywhere and within a few cuts you’ll hear classic takes on country and rock roots music. And like me you’ll find yourself thankful DeLisle is back in the music business.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.