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| Like A Rose 2013 |
639 Miles To Go
Ashley Monroe is 100 percent Tennessee twang honey from Knoxville, who also stars in the sultry country trio - the Pistol Annies - with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presely.Listening to her new solo record, Like A Rose, it's easy to hear where the giggles and tears are started on the Annies' efforts.
The 26-year-old Monroe has been playing guitar and singing since age 13, also the year her father died of pancreatic cancer.
The experience forced her to grow up quickly and music served as an outlet for the issues swirling around her.
At 17, her first album Satisfied was ready for release when she was told on tour the record company had changed its mind and it wouldn't be coming out as planned.
(Check out the fantastic interview by Twang Nation's Baron Lane with Monroe for more on her solo career and libations shootouts with the Pistol Annies.)
Now 26, Monroe co-writes all of the songs on Like a Rose, which is co-produced by Vince Gill. Guy Clark pitches in on writing the title track, while Gill makes the assist on the upbeat fiddle faddle Monroe Suede and You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter).
The later is an almost karaoke love affair done as a duet in which fellow Pistol Annie Miranda Lambert lends Monroe her husband Blake Shelton.
Her voice breathes life into comparisons with country's classic past and her songwriting does the same.
Some of the songs tell sad stories at ballad pace - Like A Rose, Used, She's Driving Me Out Of Your Mind. Meanwhile, You Got Me and The Morning After are fueled by lust, yearning, regret and in the case of the later, knowing better.
Two Weeks Late dances a familiar country waltz with Monroe's distinct sense of humor wagging the tale. Her man is gone. Her mother says she's putting on weight, and the landlord wants his rent check today.
"I know that the Bible says/That you're supposed to wait/Cause I'm a dollar short/And two weeks late."
Nonetheless, no song is rolling more waves than Weed Instead Of Roses, a sexy, smoky romp that stands as 2013's funniest shot of marital counseling, especially from a country singer.
"Give me weed instead of roses/Bring me whiskey 'stead of wine/Every puff, every shot you're looking better all the time/I don't need a card from Hallmark, box of candy Heaven knows."
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| Same Trailer Different Park 2013 |
And, like Monroe, there's way more to Musgraves than just a few lyrics not normally heard on country radio.
Monroe's approach leaves little doubt of her roots, while Musgraves bridges the gap between Taylor Swift, Jewel and Sheryl Crow.
The 24-year-old Texan previously self-released three albums and appeared on Season Five of Nashville Star in 2007, placing seventh.
But, if Musgraves and Same Trailer Different Park were presented as the major label debut of a new coffee house queen of the college radio circuit, it would be completely believable.
Her songs are equal parts sunny, cynical and hopeful. They're sometimes weary with a smile and almost always looking up.
Merry Go Round spins one of the most clever takes on Merry/Marry/Mary and the unbroken hometown twirl ever done.
"Mama's hooked on Mary Kay/Brother's hooked on Mary Jane/And Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down/Mary Mary quite contrary/We get bored so we get married."
Follow Your Arrow zings more real irony than Alanis Morrisette's Ironic and anchors the live and let live philosophy that permeates Same Trailer Different Park.
"If you won't have a drink then you're a prude/But they'll call you a drunk as soon as you down the first one/If you can't lose the weight, then you're just fat/But if you lose too much, then you're on crack."
Like A Rose and Same Trailer Different Park should help Monroe and Musgraves bloom into even brighter flowers in fans' music gardens, country and beyond.
Monroe's exposure is growing exponentially with the Pistol Annies' fame. Meanwhile, Musgraves currently is opening for Kenny Chesney on his summer stadium/amphitheater tour.
Plant both of these in your collection today. There's a prickliness to the thorns in each that make the blooms that much more beautiful.
Like A Rose Song For The Soundtrack: Weed Instead Of Roses
Same Trailer Different Park Song For The Soundtrack: Merry Go Round
Running Data For Sunday, May 19:
7.08 Miles
1:19
Mileage In The Change Jar: 0.37 Miles
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