Julie Miller's first secular album, Blue Pony, combines the exquisite Appalachiana of Gillian Welch with the whispery confessionalism of Lisa Loeb. Julie and her husband Buddy sing on each other's albums and work with the ... more »same pool of musicians. Together they have released two of the best country discs of the decade. As good as Buddy's album was, Julie's is even better. She has a high, small soprano that evokes the emotional transparency of a teenage girl, but she's been through the love wars enough times to recognize the moment "when the lie comes down like a kiss on the lips." A strain of spirituality runs through the album that hints at her background in Christian music, and like Sam Phillips, Julie makes her religious concerns so down-to-earth that it's empathetic, not preachy. --Geoffrey Himes« less
Julie Miller's first secular album, Blue Pony, combines the exquisite Appalachiana of Gillian Welch with the whispery confessionalism of Lisa Loeb. Julie and her husband Buddy sing on each other's albums and work with the same pool of musicians. Together they have released two of the best country discs of the decade. As good as Buddy's album was, Julie's is even better. She has a high, small soprano that evokes the emotional transparency of a teenage girl, but she's been through the love wars enough times to recognize the moment "when the lie comes down like a kiss on the lips." A strain of spirituality runs through the album that hints at her background in Christian music, and like Sam Phillips, Julie makes her religious concerns so down-to-earth that it's empathetic, not preachy. --Geoffrey Himes
"I don't have strong enough words to use in describing what a fantastic album this is.Julie Miller's "Blue Pony" covers the range of the roots of America's musical history, form Rock, Folk, Country and Celtic all the way to Blues.Give this a close listen folks. Rarely do we get to hear a recording that embodies so much mucical passion.Julie and her husband Buddy are a treasure trove in American Music, and, as such, too well kept of a secret.Buy 2, and prepare to want to give this album to everyone you care about!!"
Brilliant and Original
Mark J. Koenig | 01/28/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Julie Miller, and her husband Buddy Miller are an incredible songwriting team. Julie's voice and her lyrics are powerful and profound. I, too am disappointed that this kind of music gets no airplay. It's a shame, because it's some of the most heartfelt, sincere, and original "traditional" style country music you will ever hear. Rapturous."
Fabulous Millers
08/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great album, in fact I can't seem to get it off my CD player. Beautiful song writing and great melody.The Millers in my view have not made a bad album. Julie has such a unique voice, both soft, but full of emotion and she is joined with a strong back-up band including Buddy.It is just too bad that this great music is drowned-out by all the garbage on top 40 stations which is a clear indication of the state of American taste. Buy this album!!!"
Appalachian Spring ... Summer, Autumn and Winter
Martyn Richard Jones | Cordoba, Spain | 04/11/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Hello Music Fans,There's something quite satisfying, stunning and yet wholesome about traditional song-writing combined with the sophistication and professionalism of modern arrangements and the talent and poise of a great bunch of contemporary artists that made this album possible.One of the great enigmas of contemporary art is in how to capture the intangible aspects of personal ways of seeing things, whether it is of pastoral themes, virtual communities or sordid city life, and then project what one wishes to say about these things in a way that is both commercially attractive and also is fairly faithful to the idea or the notion of what one might wish to say.So, for example, the down to earthiness is of course all tinged with an ever present rosy glow or tinted for the tastes of the modern consumer, even the most potentially bleak of renditions, but this makes sense, after all, the degrees to which we can go to say what we want say to has to go hand in hand with the ability of the person who is listening to feel the right degree of empathy with what we have to say - too much, and we make the listener depressed beyond belief, too little, and we don't convey the idea that our hearts and minds are in what we do, sure it's a balancing act, and Judie Miller pulls it off to perfection.This album has found the saddle point between too much and too little, between imagination and realism, between homeliness and staged professionalism - and it works well.The songs are folksy, but not so folksy as to be corny, the spirituality of the songs are just enough to be supported by an agnostic without being a pain in the principles, and the musicality outshines everything else to make the whole experience worthwhile - believer or not.Personally, I really liked the entry track "Kiss on the lips", which rocks quite nicely in an Appalachian sort of way, and "My blue pony", which is really pretty, and for me at least, evokes memories of childhood and innocence lost and log cabins and smoky chimneys and playing with friends in Elysium fields .Judie Miller goes from strength to strength and this album was a great start.Regards,Martyn R Jones
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Profound but not pretentious
B. Holder | Cedar Crest, NM United States | 05/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After repeated listenings, my eyes still tear up with joy when I hear Julie sing. And when singing with others (her husband Buddy, EmmyLou, Karen Peris, etc.), her vocal contribution soars all the way up to heaven. So much spirit, and all on a plastic disc. The songs are profound but not pretentious, and truly fun to sing along to; I recently saw Julie playing drums on a Tupperware bowl on "Austin City Limits". This is the best of the Americana genre -- "Forever My Beloved" is as eternal a song as you'll ever hear in the English language. If you're curious enough to read the reviews of this CD, take the chance and order it. You'll thank us later!"