This is one of the Years best bluegrass CDs
James Moulton | Abington,Pa | 10/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the second recording made by Melonie Cannon, daughter of Nashville Producer ,Buddy Cannon. Her first one opened up a lot of ears a couple of years ago.
Canon's voice reminds me alot of Allison Krauss with more of a country accent. Cannon has her own nuances and pours out emotion into each song. "Cactus In A Coffee Can" could easily be a hit if it was played on country radio. This is a beautiful song penned by Allen Shamblen, it had been sitting in Buddy Cannon's A song folder for a long time. The oddly named song is a masterpiece of beautiful melodies,hooks with just some killer lyrics. I cried the first time that I heard it.
Very few artists can push my buttons and hit that inner spot. Cannon blew me away with her rendition of "Whiskey Lullabye" on her first CD too long ago.
It is hard to go into detail about each song on this disc. "Send A Little Love" (Bowman,Sherrill),is a beautiful emotive prayer to God to send a little love our way. So Sweet!!!
I gave up trying to become a successful writer long ago, what I have been blessed with is artists and their publicists like this, who know that when release time comes, I'll get that disc and that is special. Special music is very hard to find today. Like, I'm thinking that it's about time to hear from Mindy Smith's folks, yeh ,about that time.
I must say and be grateful for Rural Rhythms Records, they are fast becoming one of the hottest Bluegrass labels period. I like how they have split up between trad. bluegrass and more contemporary bluegrass like this. Yeh, I love this stuff. When my two favorite labels downsized (Vanguard and Sugar Hill), I wondered, then Rural Rhythmn came steamin' along, "Love You Guys".
This next song kinda did me in, ever hear a song that was like about what you were goin' thru. "The Day Before You"(Narmore,Rose,Brokop) has a special meaning for me. What a sad, happy, song about giving up love and then finding it. Randy Kohr's Dobro does me in here.
This is also special for Cannon because her Daddy sings it with her.
Well, a few more words and I hope that you get your copy soon. OH, Oh "Back To Earth" (Nelson) - Cannon and Willie Nelson sound like Angels on this one, how does Willie keep it up, They sound so good together. Yeh, and Willies' beautiful guitar playing. I have had this CD about two weeks and it keeps getting better with each listen. Buddy Cannon does such an excellent job of producing it, so many guest musicians and vocalists. It just doesn't get much better.
Melonie Cannon and Carrie Hassler are the two hottest bluegrass singers on the scene right now. Well, see ya next time. got a little surprise for ya.
www.meloniecannon.com
http://www.ruralrhythm.com/
"
Acoustic country and bluegrass harmonies
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For her sophomore release, Melonie Cannon moves from Skaggs' Family to Rural Rhythm, but brings along both her bewitching alto vocals and the combination of bluegrass and country that balanced her debut. Cannon's vocals are heavily indebted to the fragile purity of Alison Krauss, but also informed by earlier vocal stars such as Vern Gosdin and modern day stars like Chely Wright and Jo Dee Messina. She opens her latest with the pained adult memories of a drug-addicted prostitute's abandoned daughter and the struggle to find - a bit edgier than your typical Nashville fare. The search for deliverance turns spiritual on "Send a Little Love," but the specific situation from which salvation is sought is left to the listener's imagination. The country-gospel original "Mary Magdalene (Why You Cryin)" sounds as if it were plucked from the Staple Singers songbook, though the acoustic guitar isn't drenched in Pop Staples' famous reverb.
Cannon writes and sings of troubled relationships, including the difficulty of cutting off a poorly matched mate on "I Call it Gone," the exhaustion that leads to leaving on "I Just Don't Have it in Me," the late-night longing of "Dark Shadows" and the freedom of letting the past go on "I've Seen Enough of What's Before You." More happily, she finds herself awe-struck by the transformational meeting of her soulmate on "The Day Before You." Cannon's voice cuts through the studio with the clarity of a live performance, adding a personal presence to the autobiographical "It's All Right There." She visits her father Buddy Cannon's songbook with a sweet cover of Vern Gosdin's "Set `em Up Joe," and trades verses with Willie Nelson on his "Back to Earth." The disc ends with an acoustic tale of infidelity that turns the table on a cheating trucker and provides a fine, final helping of close harmony. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"
Cannon Sets the "Wheels" of Enjoyment Turning
T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 11/04/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Prime Cuts: Cactus in a Coffee Cup, Back to Earth (Duet with Willie Nelson), The Day Before You
Some people release CDs that simply ride the crest of what's currently hip with their eyes incessantly fixated on the mighty dollar. Then there are those whose records are pieces of art intricately woven with the woes and joys of life in all its opaline beauty. Cannon's long awaited sophomore effort "And the Wheels Turn" proudly belongs to the latter. Daughter of hit writer cum producer Buddy Cannon (who has worked with Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, George Strait among others), Cannon has enlisted daddy's help again not only in producing this disc but also in co-writing two tracks with the rest of the songs coming from Nashville's A-list scribes including John Scott Sherrill, Ronnie Bowman, Mark Narmore, Dean Dillon, Michael Heeney, Lisa Brokop and Jennifer Hanson. Nevertheless, despite the involvement of such big names from country music, Cannon's sonic palette is still progressive bluegrass (think Alison Krauss) with the occasional splatter of country and southern Gospel. However, unlike Krauss, Cannon has a deeper and earthier alto that resonates with an understated passion that is what makes Cannon such an engaging performer.
Cannon's other trump card is that she knows how to sing a story song well. Instead of yielding to the temptation to open the disc with an attitudinal stomper, Cannon creeps into our conscience slowly and surely with a devastating heart-wrenching ballad "Cactus in a Coffee Cup." "Cactus" tells of an encounter Cannon had with a girl on a plan where she told Cannon of her mother: how she abandoned her at birth, became a drug addict and later died. With nothing much left behind, all the girl has in remembrance of her mom was a cactus in a coffee can. Without any improbable resolution, Cannon unhurried unfurls the reality of life in its starkest form making our listening experience truly heart shattering. Equally detailed in her narration is the hopefully "The Day Before You" (which is interestingly co-written by Lisa Brokop) which chronicles a loss-at-love Cannon ready to give up on romance just to find her Mr. Perfect appearing in the most unexpected time. This is certainly a treat for the hopeless romantic at heart.
Like many female artists today, Cannon has a canon of songs that speak empowerment to women. Drawing her inspiration way back into the Biblical times, "Mary Magdalene" is further bolstered by a heavenly chorus and its thumping inspirational message. Cannon shows she has attitude with her tough-chick "I take no nonsense from you" stance on the lead single "I Call It Gone." Reaching back into vaults, Cannon has chosen to record two covers. First is Willie Nelson's "Back to Earth," taken from the red-headed stranger's 2006 "Songbird" CD; this is the perfect vehicle for Cannon to slowly devour every word of this broken hearted ballad making each word stain with ache and meaning. Nelson here joins Cannon and both of them blend excellently with each other like two buddies talking about their pain in a lonely tavern. The other cover is Vern Gosdin's "Set `Em Up Joe," a track also co-written by dad (Buddy Cannon). Though Cannon's delivery is no match for Gosdin's patented nasal growl, it's still a passable barroom number.
A few bluegrass numbers (such as "Dark Shadows" and "It's Alright Here") are standard fare with fire-sped fiddling and guitar licks that seem to showcase the musicianship than the songs themselves. Though not as perfect as her debut, "And the Wheels Turn" still is a stellar record. Cannon's confident delivery augmented by her sensitive and thoughtful dictation and some well chosen ballads are what makes the wheels of enjoyment turn and turn and turn."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
