PIETA BROWN
''MERCURY''
OCTOBER 31 2011
43:52
1 /Be with You 2:27
2 /Butterfly Blues 3:44
3 /Mercury 3:16
4 /How Much of My Love 2:59
5 /I’m Gone 2:20
6 /I Want It Back 4:57
7 /Blue Rider 2:57
8 /Night All Day 4:28
9 /Closing Time 3:08
10 /I Don’t Mind 3:57
11 /Glory to Glory 3:22
12 /So Many Miles 3:03
13 /No Words Now 3:14
All Tracks By Brown
Richard Bennett /Bouzouki, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Resonator), Lap Steel Guitar
Pieta Brown /Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals
Chad Cromwell /Drums, Percussion
Mark Knopfler /Guitar (Electric)
David Mansfield /Strings
Bo Ramsey /Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Electric), Producer, Vocal Harmony
Glenn Worf /Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric)
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Less can be more, but a little extra doesn't hurt either. This album, recorded in three days with the musicians playing together in the studio (somewhat of a rare situation, even in roots music these days, with the advent of Pro-Tools), is a subtle but substantial step forward from Brown's 2009's Red House label debut. That was a stripped down, Don Was- produced EP which captured a moment yet seemed somewhat unfinished. This follow-up finds Brown with longtime foil/producer/guitarist/partner Bo Ramsey and the majority of Mark Knopfler's band (with whom she toured in 2010) adding subtle yet significant heft to the songs. That's not to imply there is anything slick about the final product which maintains a sparse feel, keeping the focus on Brown's caramel-coated vocals. While it was knocked out in three days, there is nothing rushed or hasty about the performances. Brown and Ramsey take their time on these rootsy gems, crafting them for maximum impact, even if that means keeping only vocal, acoustic, and occasional electric guitar in the mix as they do a few times. But when Brown lays into a soulful version of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" groove from "I'm Gone" with light drums and some lead fireworks, the eye-opening result shows that her music benefits from the slightly fuller approach. Glenn Worf's elastic standup basslines on the title track along with simple brushed drums is all it takes to move the tune into one of Brown's, and this album's, finest moments. A blues undercurrent runs throughout, which is not to say it's a blues album. But that sensibility adds ample soul and emotion to a style which ends up as folk/country/R&B, not far from Lucinda Williams territory. Like Williams, Brown's distinctive voice carries the day with its ability to turn even the most commonplace lyrics into poetry with her slurred, poignant delivery. Brown even shifts into Otis Redding territory on the moving "I Want It Back," a love letter to a lost boyfriend that comes off as both defiant and vulnerable. Knopfler appears briefly to add his (overdubbed) mojo to the bluesy "So Many Miles," but there is little he does that couldn't have been played by Ramsey, whose own snakelike lines bring considerable mystery to the material. If the idiosyncratic Williams can break into the mainstream, there's no reason why Brown can't follow that lead and with the terrific Mercury. She's got the goods to make the leap.
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
The daughter of two preacher’s kids, Pieta Brown’s early upbringing in Iowa was in a rural outpost with no furnace, running water, or TV. There, she was exposed to traditional and rural folk music through her father, Greg Brown, the now beloved Midwestern folk singer. Later, while living with her mother in Birmingham, Alabama during her formative years, Pieta drew on and expanded these influences and began writing poems and composing instrumental songs on piano. By the time she left home at 18 she had lived in at least 19 different houses and apartments between Iowa and Alabama.
In her early 20's, after experiencing what she describes as "the songs calling", Pieta started experimenting with the banjo and eventually picked up a 1930's Maybell arch-top guitar during a visit to her father's place and never looked back. Emerging from a disjointed and distinctly 'bohemian' upbringing, Pieta began performing live and making independent recordings soon after teaching herself how to play guitar. "I grew up around a lot of musicians and artists living on the fringe, and have always felt most at home among them," Pieta says.
Making her first recording with (now) frequent collaborator, guitar-ace and Grammy-Award winning Indie/Roots/Americana Producer, Bo Ramsey, started Pieta down the path of making recordings based around live performances. Her first album (self-titled), recorded and released independently in 2002, was recorded live in 3 days to 2-inch tape. "My first experience in the studio really steered me down a certain road," Pieta says. "I was so shy about singing my songs then, and barely understood how to sing into a microphone, in spite of all the live music I had grown up around. Still, I was feverishly driven to deliver these songs in my heart. Right away, during that first recording session, as we were playing live and recording to tape as it went down, I experienced the magic of hooking all the way in with the song in the moment...playing the songs, with those players, playing those instruments, in that room, at that time. And ever since, I've been hooked on that magic feeling."
Continually revealing new layers as both a songwriter and performer, Pieta is being recognized as one of modern Americana's true gems. In just the last 4 years Pieta has released two critically acclaimed albums, with much attention being paid not only to her distinct sound and style, but also the power of her singing and songwriting. Since releasing One and All (2010) and Mercury (2011), Pieta has toured North America with Mark Knopfler, and toured various regions of the U.S., Australia and Canada with John Prine, Amos Lee, Brandi Carlisle, JJ Cale, Ani Difranco, Mavis Staples, and Calexico among others. She has made guest appearances on Mason Jennings' recent album, Always Been, two of Calexico’s recent albums (Algiers and Carried To Dust), including singing on the song Fortune Teller (which Pieta penned with Joey Burns), as well as appearing on Amos Lee’s album, Mission Bell (2012). Pieta's father, Greg Brown, recorded one of her songs, Remember The Sun, on his album Freak Flag (2011), and invited her to sing and play banjo on his latest release, Hymns For What Is Left (2012), and one of Pieta's all time favorite singers, Iris Dement, has been singing Pieta's song Faller (from One and All) in her live shows. Pieta's song I Don't Mind (from Mercury) was also recently translated and released (as Het Deert Me Niet) by Belgian pop songtress Eva De Roovere. With her last release, Mercury named #1 Folk Album of 2012 (Roots Music Radio Report), a recent international collaboration called LOVE OVER GOLD in full swing (garnering 4 stars in Rolling Stone), and a new album slated for release in September 2014 (recorded at Justin Vernon’s Studio, April Base), Pieta’s music and artistry continue to rise.
OFFICIAL SITE
''MERCURY''
OCTOBER 31 2011
43:52
1 /Be with You 2:27
2 /Butterfly Blues 3:44
3 /Mercury 3:16
4 /How Much of My Love 2:59
5 /I’m Gone 2:20
6 /I Want It Back 4:57
7 /Blue Rider 2:57
8 /Night All Day 4:28
9 /Closing Time 3:08
10 /I Don’t Mind 3:57
11 /Glory to Glory 3:22
12 /So Many Miles 3:03
13 /No Words Now 3:14
All Tracks By Brown
Richard Bennett /Bouzouki, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Resonator), Lap Steel Guitar
Pieta Brown /Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals
Chad Cromwell /Drums, Percussion
Mark Knopfler /Guitar (Electric)
David Mansfield /Strings
Bo Ramsey /Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Electric), Producer, Vocal Harmony
Glenn Worf /Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric)
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Less can be more, but a little extra doesn't hurt either. This album, recorded in three days with the musicians playing together in the studio (somewhat of a rare situation, even in roots music these days, with the advent of Pro-Tools), is a subtle but substantial step forward from Brown's 2009's Red House label debut. That was a stripped down, Don Was- produced EP which captured a moment yet seemed somewhat unfinished. This follow-up finds Brown with longtime foil/producer/guitarist/partner Bo Ramsey and the majority of Mark Knopfler's band (with whom she toured in 2010) adding subtle yet significant heft to the songs. That's not to imply there is anything slick about the final product which maintains a sparse feel, keeping the focus on Brown's caramel-coated vocals. While it was knocked out in three days, there is nothing rushed or hasty about the performances. Brown and Ramsey take their time on these rootsy gems, crafting them for maximum impact, even if that means keeping only vocal, acoustic, and occasional electric guitar in the mix as they do a few times. But when Brown lays into a soulful version of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" groove from "I'm Gone" with light drums and some lead fireworks, the eye-opening result shows that her music benefits from the slightly fuller approach. Glenn Worf's elastic standup basslines on the title track along with simple brushed drums is all it takes to move the tune into one of Brown's, and this album's, finest moments. A blues undercurrent runs throughout, which is not to say it's a blues album. But that sensibility adds ample soul and emotion to a style which ends up as folk/country/R&B, not far from Lucinda Williams territory. Like Williams, Brown's distinctive voice carries the day with its ability to turn even the most commonplace lyrics into poetry with her slurred, poignant delivery. Brown even shifts into Otis Redding territory on the moving "I Want It Back," a love letter to a lost boyfriend that comes off as both defiant and vulnerable. Knopfler appears briefly to add his (overdubbed) mojo to the bluesy "So Many Miles," but there is little he does that couldn't have been played by Ramsey, whose own snakelike lines bring considerable mystery to the material. If the idiosyncratic Williams can break into the mainstream, there's no reason why Brown can't follow that lead and with the terrific Mercury. She's got the goods to make the leap.
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
The daughter of two preacher’s kids, Pieta Brown’s early upbringing in Iowa was in a rural outpost with no furnace, running water, or TV. There, she was exposed to traditional and rural folk music through her father, Greg Brown, the now beloved Midwestern folk singer. Later, while living with her mother in Birmingham, Alabama during her formative years, Pieta drew on and expanded these influences and began writing poems and composing instrumental songs on piano. By the time she left home at 18 she had lived in at least 19 different houses and apartments between Iowa and Alabama.
In her early 20's, after experiencing what she describes as "the songs calling", Pieta started experimenting with the banjo and eventually picked up a 1930's Maybell arch-top guitar during a visit to her father's place and never looked back. Emerging from a disjointed and distinctly 'bohemian' upbringing, Pieta began performing live and making independent recordings soon after teaching herself how to play guitar. "I grew up around a lot of musicians and artists living on the fringe, and have always felt most at home among them," Pieta says.
Making her first recording with (now) frequent collaborator, guitar-ace and Grammy-Award winning Indie/Roots/Americana Producer, Bo Ramsey, started Pieta down the path of making recordings based around live performances. Her first album (self-titled), recorded and released independently in 2002, was recorded live in 3 days to 2-inch tape. "My first experience in the studio really steered me down a certain road," Pieta says. "I was so shy about singing my songs then, and barely understood how to sing into a microphone, in spite of all the live music I had grown up around. Still, I was feverishly driven to deliver these songs in my heart. Right away, during that first recording session, as we were playing live and recording to tape as it went down, I experienced the magic of hooking all the way in with the song in the moment...playing the songs, with those players, playing those instruments, in that room, at that time. And ever since, I've been hooked on that magic feeling."
Continually revealing new layers as both a songwriter and performer, Pieta is being recognized as one of modern Americana's true gems. In just the last 4 years Pieta has released two critically acclaimed albums, with much attention being paid not only to her distinct sound and style, but also the power of her singing and songwriting. Since releasing One and All (2010) and Mercury (2011), Pieta has toured North America with Mark Knopfler, and toured various regions of the U.S., Australia and Canada with John Prine, Amos Lee, Brandi Carlisle, JJ Cale, Ani Difranco, Mavis Staples, and Calexico among others. She has made guest appearances on Mason Jennings' recent album, Always Been, two of Calexico’s recent albums (Algiers and Carried To Dust), including singing on the song Fortune Teller (which Pieta penned with Joey Burns), as well as appearing on Amos Lee’s album, Mission Bell (2012). Pieta's father, Greg Brown, recorded one of her songs, Remember The Sun, on his album Freak Flag (2011), and invited her to sing and play banjo on his latest release, Hymns For What Is Left (2012), and one of Pieta's all time favorite singers, Iris Dement, has been singing Pieta's song Faller (from One and All) in her live shows. Pieta's song I Don't Mind (from Mercury) was also recently translated and released (as Het Deert Me Niet) by Belgian pop songtress Eva De Roovere. With her last release, Mercury named #1 Folk Album of 2012 (Roots Music Radio Report), a recent international collaboration called LOVE OVER GOLD in full swing (garnering 4 stars in Rolling Stone), and a new album slated for release in September 2014 (recorded at Justin Vernon’s Studio, April Base), Pieta’s music and artistry continue to rise.
OFFICIAL SITE
