Welcome back to the CD Odyssey, where for the second review in a row we have a talented woman with a warble in her voice. A Creative Maelstrom – now with twice the warble!
Disc 1888 is… Portrait of a Woman (Part 1)
Artist: Mean Mary
Year of Release: 2022
What’s up with the Cover? A lovely portrait of Mary James (aka Mean Mary), courtesy of artist Roselin Estephania.
James appears happy in this photo, although she may not yet realize she is under a butterfly attack. Don’t concern yourself. Butterfly attacks are rarely lethal and besides the back cover of the album has a cat batting at the butterfly, so help is on the way...
How I Came To Know It: I learned about Mean Mary through her 2024 album, “Woman Creature (Portrait of a Woman Pt. 2)” (reviewed back at Disc 1796) and I have since dived deep into her collection. “Portrait of a Woman, Part 1” comes from that.
How It Stacks Up: I now have six Mean Mary albums (and I’m on the hunt for two more). Of the six I already have, I put “Portrait of a Woman, Pt. 1” in at #6, which promotes “Blazing: Hell is Naked” up to #5 in the process.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
Mean Mary is one of the greatest discoveries in my musical journey in many years, and I dove into “Portrait of a Woman, Part 1” with joy in my heart and anticipation of greatness. In the end, it falls short of greatness but still lands a solid record from an artist who doesn’t make bad ones.
If you are new to Mean Mary, she’s a singer-songwriter with a birdlike warble to her voice, and magic in her banjo-pickin’ fingers. While she sings about plenty of modern experiences, Mean Mary is an old soul, and thing will feel very ‘old timey’ throughout. If you don’t like folk music, and prefer things slathered in pop post-production trickery and a lot of instruments that require electricity to work, then this may not be for you. This is folk music for folksters, made without apology.
Things start with Mary’s talent on the banjo, which is considerable. Her playing is bright and sunny even by banjo standards. Expect these songs to put a jump in your step. Witness the delightfully merry instrumental “Merry Eyes”, a mid-tempo meander which will give your cockles a good warming.
Later in the record Mary will double down on the virtuosity, with a fiddle instrumental called “Butterfly Sky” where she channels her inner Scot with a heavy but precise action on the bow that summons up hints of Charlie McKerron and John Morris Rankin. As someone who can barely find 10 chords on a guitar, the idea that someone like Mean Mary can shift styles and instruments with such easy grace is even more impressive.
Every Mean Mary has at least one narrative gem, and on “Portrait…” that song is “Cranberry Gown”. It tells the story of a woman who purchases a beautiful dress but falls on hard times and has to sell it. Years later she finds a replacement dress in a thrift store that rekindles all the same magic. The dress lifts her spirits to the point that even on days when she goes casual (not every occasion calls for a cranberry gown).
The song reminds us of the power of art and expression to lift us not just in the moment of creative discovery, but for months after. It is a song about a dress, and about so much more than a dress. It is one of the finest songs Mean Mary (and brother Frank) have ever written.
Unfortunately, it is followed immediately by “Bridge Out” which wants to be a whimsical road trip but feels more like an indulgent moment at the open mic. Brother Frank’s vocal additions are hokey and often include affectations a drunk uncle might think are funny but are actually just awkward. Mean Mary’s usually delightfully warbles get drawn into her sibling’s overacting and create…a mess. The banjo playing is as sublime as ever, but even that can’t rescue this one. It’s the exception that proves the rule of Mary’s excellence.
For a better road trip song on the record, Mary provides us “Big Tour Bus” a song about being a struggling artist dreaming of having a big tour bus, ideally with a driver so you can sleep between gigs. It has all the same whimsy and light-hearted observational intent of “Bridge Out” but unlike that song, this one works. A stripped-down version of this song appears on Mary’s 2020 album “Alone” and while the “full band version” here doesn’t add a lot, I like the song enough that I was happy to hear it two different ways.
“Old Banjo” is also a delightful song, one of several where Mean Mary revels in an instrument that she knows well. “Old Banjo” has the feel of an ancient adventure. It’s a song you can imagine a medieval bard playing as he walks from town to town. The lyrics are festooned with heroes and kings that serve as metaphors for the singer’s relationship to their instrument.
Like every Mean Mary record I’ve heard, “Portrait of a Woman (Part One)” is a celebration of Mary James’ deep and abiding love of music. Her voice is a joyous birdsong, and her fingers on the banjo are well-travelled country roads to the happier places in your heart. If you want an introduction to Mean Mary, I would go out of order and start with 2024’s “Woman Creature” (Portrait of a Woman, Part 2)” but there is still plenty to recommend the prequel. If we cancel out the brilliance of “Cranberry Gown” and the indulgence of “Bridge Out” we still find ourselves with a fine sampling of her work.
Best tracks: Cranberry Gown, Merry Eyes, Big Tour Bus, Old Banjo
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