Search - Catherine Britt :: Dusty Smiles & Heart Break Cures

Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures

stormy3 | Austin | 03/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Catherine Britt has also worked closely with Bill Chambers so comparisons to Kasey Chambers are inevitable. However, she is actually far closer to the American Mainstream of the late 80's and early 90's (very close to an early Leeann Womack). The very title Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures conj ours up images of rodeos and country roads, and this album does not disappoint.
She opens with the leaving bad love behind tale of "46 Miles From Alice," a perfect breezy opener. The rockier "Nashville Blues" feels a little bit forced, but not enough to spoil the effect of the album. Next comes the bouncy, twangy small town homage to life "Easy Living." The title track is one of the more beautiful tracks on the album. Using the mournful licks of a steel guitar to full effect, she sings about a woman watching her man reconsider their relationship, musing "I saw you leave again today, getting out the cowards way," before warning him "the day you leave me for sure is when I stop asking for more." Next comes an up-tempo two stepper of a song about falling out of love "Help Me, I'm Falling." She follows this up with a spine tingling mountain rendition of the traditional "In the Pines." Next, as if to justify "In the Pines" comes "Hillbilly Picking Rambling Girl" where she warns detractors "I'm I hillbilly picking rambling girl/and I'm hanging in bars and I'm listening to Merle/Drinking whiskey and beer to wash this pain away/playing good old country songs, not the ones they play today." Next comes her gorgeous duet with Bill Chambers on the classic "It's Not Love, but it's Not Bad." Next comes the stately, steel laden "I'm Learning to Forgive My Heart." She follows this up with the feisty, near-bluegrass of "That Don't Bother Me." Then she sinks her teeth in to the Hank Williams classic "Move It On Over." Her doghouse inducing behavior gets punished in another haunting ballad, "Drive In Movie" where speaking regretfully she muses, "what a surprise it must have been to realize that I was one of them/not a king but just a man/not an angel, hardly a friend." The album comes to a close with a spirited rendition of "The Big Rock Candy Mountain."
This album is straight, simple and pure country music at its finest. As the title suggests there are plenty of strong women at the weakest, hardest moments of their lives. The flip side to the heartbreaks is the cures and the smiles which are also here aplenty. In short, this is an album by a great, multi-dimensional woman."

A Truly Great Find

Steven Craze | Canberra, A,C,T Australia | 05/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So often you come accross new country singers that sing simply to fit in with the rest of the crowd, filling set expectations. Catherine Britt offers something completely different. With a sound similar to that of Kasey Chambers, but yet preserving a degree of innocence, she sings her songs. From moving numbers such as '46 Miles from Alice' to more uptempo numbers such as 'Hillbilly Pickin Ramblin Girl' and 'That Dont Bother Me' to the fun 'Move it on Over'. However, the icing on the cake has to be the hidden track on the end - a fantastic rendition of 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' from the award winning movie 'O Brother Where Art Thou'. A truly great find."

Best New CD

xllx | 02/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What an impressive CD. I saw Audrey Auld and Bill Chambers last spring, at Threadgill's (Austin, TX-USA). Ms. Britt was one of their guest performers. She was (as were all the others) exceptional. Soon after the show, I got her CD from Amazon.com. WOW! I couldn't believe how good it was. So fresh sounding, with a comforting old-style sound... it's hard to describe, you just have to listen. So what if it's an import CD... you will listen to it 30 times more than your normal, domestic CD. That makes it a bargin!Louis Lamoreaux xllx@msn.com"