2013 - Concord Records
By Phillip Smith ; Oct. 19, 2013
By Phillip Smith ; Oct. 19, 2013
I had never heard of Valerie June prior to her performance
on The Late Show with David Letterman. She performed “Workin’ Woman Blues”, her
first cut off her new album Pushin’
Against a Stone. She took the stage
with her acoustic guitar strapped around her shoulder and started singing about
how she had been working her whole life, and now is ready for a sugar
daddy. For those few minutes, as far as everything
else was concerned, time had been frozen. I was so infatuated with her voice, and
how it was a unique blend of soul and country.
The song was intoxicating. It
swept me off my feet so fast, I had to hit the internet, find her website, and
order her album. To make matters even
sweeter, I found it was available on vinyl.
June is not just a pretty
voice with a guitar. She is quite
talented in the writing department as well. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the
album, with one exception, “Trials Troubles and Tribulations”, a bluegrass gospel
song by Estil C. Ball. This stripped down acoustic song focuses on
her lovely vocals, leaving the drums behind.
Booker T. Jones
(Booker T. and the MG’s) makes an appearance to play organ on “Somebody To Love”
and “On My Way”. The former, a real
folky tune about needing somebody to love features Luca Kezdy on violin. The latter, another selection in the
country/folk category, also features Kezdy on violin. The rhythm reminds me a little bit of “Friend
of the Devil” by the Grateful Dead.
The album has a very cool ‘retro’
sound, as it swirls the sounds of Music City with that of Motown. Title track “Pushin’ Against a Stone”, with
its harmonized backing vocals brings to mind the music from Mary Wells. And for a bonus, we get to hear the psychedelic
guitar styling of guest guitarist, Jimbo
Mathus, who also appears on four other tracks. It’s no surprise then, he plays on my favorite
tracks on the album, “Wanna Be On Your Mind”
This is another song that is so captivating, it almost puts me in a
trance.
Valarie June is such a
talented new artist who has a refreshing new take on music, and I have no doubt
we will see a lot more from her. This
album easily falls into my top five favorite releases of the year.
