Sally Barris Restless Soul Review
Wrensong 42205-5
Sally Barris is an A-list Nashville songwriter who has been covered by such top-level artists as Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, and Lee Ann Womack. The Minnesota native often creates her songs out of her deep immersion in the folk idiom, and she’s found a ready acceptance in the United Kingdom as a performer of the more folk-influenced side of her work. In recent years there's been a bit of a give and take, with Celtic and English folk music influences turning up in Barris' songwriting, and that’s a bridge she's taken advantage of in her latest recording. No one would mistake Barris for the British folk artist to whom she’s most often compared, Kate Rusby; Barris writes in her own way and out of her own experience. In both melody and story style, though, it's clear she’s been absorbing the lessons she learned playing and listening across the pond. "Huntington River" is a ballad of love and loss that could be an age-old song on either side of the Atlantic, but is, as are all the 11 songs, one that Barris wrote or on which she collaborated. There's almost a story in the sequence of the songs, moving from ideas about loss, change, and leaving, to the restless soul of the title wandering the world and looking for home. She finds it, in place and in relationship, and celebrates it all, as the closing song's title suggests, with "Tears of Joy."
It's a good journey. Barris knows how to write lyrics that are as forthright as a stream of clear water and how to support them with melodies that share that quality. She sings in a light, expressive soprano that is reminiscent of Claire Lynch and Aoife O'Donovan. For this trip into connecting Celtic and Americana sounds, she's invited along musicians who know how to do that in an understated way. They include fiddlers Stuart Duncan and Andrea Zonn; Jon Randall, who plays guitar and adds harmonies; and Byron House on bass.
— Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL) © 2008 Visionation, Ltd. Used by permission. Dirty Linen
Sally Barris
Restless Soul
Wrensong 42205-5
****1/2 Alan Cackett Maverick Magazine UK
Songwriter poised to make the breakthrough to international recognition as a major recording artist
Like Nanci Griffith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mindy Smith and Allison Moorer, Sally Barris doesn’t easily fit into the country genre, but is one of the most talented writers currently working in Nashville. Over the past few years she’s had cuts by Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Kathy Mattea, Jessi Alexandra, Kate MacKenzie and more recently Trisha Yearwood. RESTLESS SOUL is Sally’s third album and leaves her first two CDs in the dust. It sounds somewhat more mainstream than its predecessors, but a lot of that has to do with how eclectic it is and also how much of a better recording it is. The sound quality is as good as it gets. The vocals are clear and the guitars are rich sounding. The mix is perfect.
Sally wrote all eleven songs, some with such Music Row stalwarts as Mark Sanders, Liz Rose, Jon Randall, Jessi Alexander and Cory Mayo, but mainly by herself. A lot of work was put into the making of this album and there is not one throwaway song here. The title track is a great slow ballad. There is really nice guitar pickin’, and Sally’s vocals are really in touch with the mood of the song. There is a guitar riff that does a lot for this song, great musical hook with on-the-mark harmonies by Michael Kelsh. Tears of Joy is rooted in traditional bluegrass but also nods to country, then there’s the wry break-up song, Being Gone, while Huntington River is an awesome story ballad with great harmony by Jon Randall and Stuart Duncan on mournful fiddle. Duncan’s fiddle is to the fore on My Love Loves The Ocean, an intriguing ballad rooted in traditional British folk music. Last Drink Of Wine has some nice acoustic guitar, a really rich sounding track with inventive percussion and great accordion courtesy of Jeff Taylor. This has an enticing melody, and Sally’s vocals just pull you in.
If you’re a fan of the likes of Kathy Mattea, Mindy Smith, Lee Ann Womack or Alison Krauss, then you need to rush out and buy RESTLESS SOUL. Throughout Sally Barris is singing with a natural timbre and great confidence. The whole album has a very high quality vibe with country, folk, bluegrass, Celtic and Americana influences. Ms Barris has really grown in her vocals and her approach to her music. This is going to be a hard CD to top. AC
