Suzy Bogguss – Swing (Compadre)
First – the good news. This is a great album.
Now, the bad news. In the mid-90s, Suzy Bogguss took time out from a country music career that had been on a fairly sharp upward trajectory. Bad move. Since then, it’s been one disappointing album after another. Not that the albums weren’t good – it’s just that Shania came along, and Faith, and Martina, and – well, it’s a tough crowd to elbow back into.
From there, there was predictable label trouble. It’s been a downward spiral from having your stuff produced by Capitol, to Liberty, to Platinum (whoever they are), to – well, we’re down to Compadre Records – an apparently well-regarded distributor of self-published stuff, based in Houston. I downloaded this one from EMusic. It was released last year. More about EMusic on the home page.
What a fun disc! Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel) produces. It’s recorded in Austin. Duh. Some of the AATW gang was apparently in for support – Floyd Domino on keyboard, Jason Roberts on Violin, David Sanger on drums – and of course, Benson himself on guitar.
Suzy fronts ’em just fine. This one has just the right mix of standards and new tunes. Suzy’s cover of Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right” sparkles – “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” – A Duke Ellington classic, is good, too.
But the new stuff fits right in. April Barrows, a Nashville songwriter, placed five cuts on this disc – My favorite of that bunch is “Burning The Toast,” a smoothly-done ode to newlyweds that pops, with Benson’s fingerprints all over it. Almost a ballad, “It’s Always New To Me,” written by Bogguss, Songwriter/Husband Doug Crider and Paul Kramer, is also an excellent tune.
Back to bad news. Who’s going to find this gem? Little label, no promotion – heck, I found it by accident. A Google search indicates that Bogguss is on the road, pushing this one to country radio stations. It needs some airplay – but I’m not even sure Country is the right venue.
As much as I like Ray Benson – and as much as I would move to Austin in a heartbeat, to be close to that music – it’s more of a public-radio/Texas Music/”Austin City Limits” crowd. It’s not a “today’s country music” crowd.
Back to good news – heck, Texas is as big as some countries. And given the current state of country music, there are much worse crowds to hang with.
Very highly recommended.