Laura Cantrell Convenes Musical Friends (Steve Earle, Mark Spencer, Buddy Miller) On Country Fueled ‘Just Like a Rose – The Anniversary Sessions’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Photo credit: Liz Tormes

It’s been nine years since we last heard from the former popular DJ and gifted singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell, a leading figure in NYC’s country scene, who has long had one foot in the Big Apple and the other in Nashville. Few other artists could call on such longtime friends as Steve EarleBuddy MillerRosie Flores and Paul Burch, not to mention such important musicians such as Mark Spencer (Son Volt), Jeremy Chatzky (Bruce Springsteen), Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives), Fats Kaplin (John Prine, Steve Dawson), and Jen Gunderman (Jayhawks, Sheryl Crow) to mention just a few. Just Like a RoseThe Anniversary Sessions was begun in 2020 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Cantrell’s debut, the heralded Not the Tremblin’ Kind, but was delayed by you guessed it. 

Through the work of several producers, notably Don Fleming (Sonic Youth/Teenage Fanclub), and David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, T-Bone Burnett) we have a mix of original tunes and those that made an impact on Cantrell long before she became a recording artist. Co-writes include songs with Mark Winchester (Randy Travis, Carlene Carter), Fred Wilhelm (Rascal Flats, Faith Hill), and Gary Burr (Patty Loveless, Ringo Starr), along with an unreleased song from Amy Rigby and a new recording of “When the Roses Bloom Again,” adapted by Jeff Tweedy.  

The jaunty “Push the Swing” was written with Mark Winchester in Nashville as was the more traditional country-sounding “Bide My Time.” Spencer plays most of the instruments on the former and pal Mary Lee Kortes harmonizes.  On “Bide My Time” guitarist Spencer, keyboardist Jon Cowherd and multi-instrumentalist Mansfield are backing her with pop flourishes from producer Fleming, 

“Just Like a Rose,” co-written with Mark Spencer, and Amy Rigby penned “Brand New Eyes’ were produced by Rosie Flores, who has produced albums for rockabilly greats Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin. Cantrell, who has lauded women in previous recordings, had never done so for one she really knew but does it for Flores here. For her part, Flores led a kickass band that included such Nashville stalwarts as Vaughan who kicks up a signature guitar solo, and bassist Dave Roe. “Brand New Eyes” has almost a girl group vibe and not only complements “Just a Rose” but also salutes the recent passing of Ronnie Spector. As a vocalist Cantrell makes the most of her sweet, light voice and can always be counted on for superb diction, annunciation, and a natural feel for a country song. 

As Cantrell’s career blossomed in the early 2000s, she developed a huge following in the UK and Ireland, so she reinterprets her Jeff Tweedy hit, “When the Roses Bloom Again,” mainly for those audiences with Buddy Miller on guitar, Steve Earle duetting on vocal and Ivan Goff adding the touch of Uilleann pipes. While it’s often hard to top the original version, she does so here.  

Another longtime cohort is Paul Burch and his criminally underrecognized band, the WPA Ballclub, featuring Kaplin, Gunderman, bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Justin Amaral. They back Cantrell on her pedal steel (Kaplin) driven ballad “Secret Language” and later for one of her early favorite writers on the New York scene for Joe Flood’s “Good Morning Mr. Afternoon.” Cantrell followers may also recall Cantrell’s covers of Flood’s “Pile of Woe” and “All the Same to You” in her previous work.

Cantrell wrote “Unaccompanied” and “I’m Gonna Miss This Town” with Fred Wilhelm, a Nashville-based songwriter who has worked with Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, and Lori McKenna among others. The first tune relates to Cantrell’s early days on the NYC subway in search of music while the latter is a more mature perspective on a place that suddenly no longer seems as familiar. Mansfield played four different instruments and produced Cantrell’s co-write with Nashville songwriter Gary Burr, “Holding You in My Heart.” Burr has also worked with headliners such as Keith Urban and Reba McEntire among others. It’s the quintessential pandemic tune, as most of us spent time missing friends and family. The closer, appropriately is a collaboration with her longest-term colleague Mark Spencer for “AWM,” otherwise ‘angry shite man.” Cantrell used the song as a fundraiser for the League of Women Voters as the 2018 mid-terms approached.  It’s rare to find Cantrell taking a political stance, and she sings and uses the spoken word in her typically gentle way without any real discernible anger in her voice. It’s all in the lyrics.

Cantrell made the most of her long hiatus by stocking this one with great songs and guests. Hopefully, we can look forward to another twenty years or more of her music. 

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