Melissa Carper has the charm and delivery of Patsy Cline and the classy pastiche of a jazz singer from eras ago. She has made major leaps since her 2021 Daddys Country Gold and she’s released Ramblin’ Soul in the interim and is a member of the sweet-sounding trio Wonder Women of Country with Kelly Willis and Brennen Leigh. Yet, this well-crafted album features some of the best musicianship heard recently, and that surely factors into her impressive leap as well. Singing and music, in general, come so naturally to Carper but glow even more brightly with this cast on hand for this mix of originals and covers.
Carper’s blend of traditional country with tinges of jazz, blues soul, and R&B is something she feels is relatively new, but this listener can’t help but take a prevailing retro view of this fine music which to these ears falls somewhere between the ‘50s, (the country tunes) and the ‘30s (the jazz tunes). Whether it’s old or new, though, is not important; Carper’s smooth, crisp, precise, and ever-charming vocals are so pillowy and comfortable, framed beautifully in these arrangements. The title comes from a statement made by bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley in the film O Brother Where Art Thou – “I don’t think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya.” That phrase has stuck with Carper for years and with her sense of timing, phrasing, and gift for storytelling, she proves she has those same natural instincts.
The vintage swinging opener, the title track, bounces along nicely, powered by Corcoran’s baritone sax and Taylor’s grooving barroom piano. The bluesy “I Don’t Love You Anymore” sounds like a cross between Patsy Cline and a late-night jazz crooner of another age, with fine touches from Scruggs on steel, Corcoran’s sax and Taylors’ piano as Carper’s emotive vocal sends chills. This one and her sensuous rendition of Cole Porter’s sparely accompanied “Every Time We Say Goodbye” are gorgeously stunning, as well as the even more retro-sounding, fiddle-driven crooner “Let’s Stay Together.”
Carper unleashes her more forceful side on “Evil Eva,” punctuated by Scruggs’ bluesy guitar lead and chord-heavy early R&B piano. Throwback “Your Furniture’s Too Nice” is pure fun as Carper sings of “furniture too nice for me and me doggy” replete with whistles and vaudeville piano; it’s sure to induce a smile. “There’ll Be Another One” is one of few with lush string arrangements, straight out of ‘60s- early 70’s country. While that accompaniment seems on target here, somehow, it makes the closer “Waxing and Waning” sound a bit too sweet and saccharine.
She takes the honky tonk route on the true-to-life “Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee” and conjures a similar vintage swing to the opener in “Lucky Five.” The country/jazz crossover feel imbues her “Let’s Get Outa Here” and the ‘30s cover “That’s My Desire.”Two of the best traditional albums in the past twelve months are Brennen Leigh’s Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet and this one, Borned in Ya from Carper, a pure gem. Funny how that works.
