Happy day! My annual holidays have
arrived!
I have other holidays through the
year, but the week I take off in June is the one that is all about me, where I get
to relax, recharge and generally fill my days with my favourite activities. I
got started last night with some beers with my friend Tom, and now I’m going to
write this review before meeting my lovely wife for lunch. Life is good.
Disc 742 is….Walk of Shame
Year of Release: 2011
What’s up with the Cover? Behold, Nikki Lane and her giant head. Those
deep blue eyes draw you in, but not as much as the back of the album:
Ah,
the walk of shame in all its glory. Nikki is embarrassed by that unseemly tear
in her pleather dress, but what she should be ashamed of is the album’s copy
editor who has spelled her song “Look
Away” as “Look Awtay”. There’s
nothing shameful about walking home after a fun night out, but spelling errors
like that? That’s just wrong.
How I Came To Know It: I read an article about her in a
music magazine Sheila bought me for my birthday, and I decided to check her out
on Youtube and see if I liked her. I did, and bought her 2014 album, “All or
Nothin’”. Digging deeper I found out she also had “Walk of Shame” so I ordered
it on Amazon, after a few months of fruitless searching at the local record
stores.
How It Stacks Up: If you’ve been reading along carefully, you’ll know
that I’ve got two Nikki Lane albums. Of the two I prefer “Walk of Shame.” It
just has a bit more punch than “All or Nothing.”
Ratings: 3 stars
“Walk of Shame” strays dangerously close to ‘new country’
multiple times, and I could have very easily found myself hating this record.
Fortunately, Nikki Lane stays just on the wrong side of the tracks, which is
where I like my country music.
The song structures are heavily influenced by the
evils of Nashville, with Taylor Swift-like chord progressions in places that
had me yawning. Don’t get me wrong, Taylor Swift is a gifted songwriter and
your 12 year old daughter could do a lot worse for her first record. It just
isn’t my cup of tea.
Fortunately, Lane’s music has an edge to it that kept
drawing me in. The songs are very grown up for a songwriter right out of the
gate. When she sings about the “Walk of
Shame” it is funny for sure, but it is clear that song is more about
triumph than shame. Nikki got lucky, and if there is a bit of awkwardness on
the walk home, it was worth it. The refrain of “won’t do it again, won’t do it again” on the chorus is funny
because it is clear she will. In the hands of a different singer, this song could
be exploitative, but again Lane straddles that line without ever going over.
There is an air of rebellion throughout the record
that goes beyond the usual “girls just want to have fun” vibe that you get from
more obvious country singers like Gretchen Wilson or more recently Carrie
Underwood.
“Gone Gone
Gone” is particularly appealing, matching the chugging train bass beat of a
Johnny Cash song with a bluesy collection of minor chords that would be at home
on a Blue Rodeo album. These minor chords underscore how badly small town girls
with big dreams need to get the hell out of town. It’s true for small town boys
too – take it from one who knows.
The album has touching songs as well, including the touring
track “Coming Home to You” which is a
pretty little love song and “Come Away
Joe.” “Come Away Joe” is a sister
song to “Gone Gone Gone” with a
soaring, hopeful quality, maybe because it is always easier to get out of town
when you’ve got company on the trip. You get the feeling though that Lane will
leave without Joe if he decides to not come away.
Not appealing is Lane’s cover of Muddy Water’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied” which has been so
new-countrified I didn’t even recognize it at first. The cheesy guitar strums stripped
the grit out of the song and replaced it
with that kind of empty yeehawing that you get from acts called things like “Big
and Rich.”
Lane is a bit restricted by her voice, which doesn’t
have a lot of power. Her coquettish singing style masks this most of the time,
but occasionally she sound too affected and pulls you out of the song.
Special kudos for keeping the record tight at only
10 songs and 32 minutes total playing time. There isn’t a lot of chaff here,
and the songs were clearly chosen with care.
Best
tracks: Walk of
Shame, Coming Home to You, Gone Gone Gone, Come Away Joe
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