Search - Lone Justice :: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

Not totally stuck in the 80's, after all ...

Laurie A.E. | MA, USA | 04/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the 1980's, when vinyl 45's (yes kids, those are comparable to CD singles ... there was a song on each side and you had to have a record player to play them ... oy, I'm getting old!), I purchased Lone Justice's "Shelter" for about two bucks at a record store. The song had some of the requisite 80's synth arrangements, yes -- but it also had much of that prescient country twang in it, which was way ahead of its time in popular music, and for that reason (among others) to my ears it sounded vastly different from anything on the Top 40 or popular radio at the time.



Fast forward to the new millenium (where did all those years GO?!) and the advent of Napster, amazon.com, and all of the other ways the music industry has so craftily made it easy for us to shop (and shop and shop) from home, with the added benefit of "try it before you buy it". (So alluring. Hey, progress ain't all bad). One listen to the entire "Best of Lone Justice" convinced me that I'd missed out on a whole lot of other great music from Marie McKee & company in the intervening decades.



Perhaps the very best thing about the song "Shelter" (which in itself is pretty mesmerizing, musically speaking) was -- and is -- Maria McKee's voice. The same is true -- in spades -- of this great collection. If Cyndi Lauper ever went country and God had blessed her with a bit more range and a dash of Kate Bush's vocal gymnastics, well, that'd be Maria McKee. There is a plaintive, emotional vulnerability in her voice, but at the same time those pipes are the muscled, heart-on-the-sleeve force that gets behind these songs and makes them ring in your head until you can't resist, in spite of the sometimes excessive studio gloss.



The Motown-ish touches on some of the songs ("I Found Love") are surprising, but they do work well, and lend interest and a welcome note of unpredictability to the set. There are some excellent arrangements here; tasty piano (see "Dixie Storms"), and "East of Eden" is ripe with booming drums and a gleefully undulating bass beat -- a song I'm hard pressed to sit still through. Lone Justice's punk/rockabilly cred comes through in that gem, and "Working Late" continues the romp. Bittersweet lyrics sung with conviction and a dose of devil may care sass. "Don't Toss Us Away" showcases Maria's voice, front and center, with spare arrangements. A country-waltz-heart bleeder, this one rings with the sound of a soul who's been taken by surprise, faced suddenly with the anguish of losing what she thought was a certain and loyal love ... the desperation is palpable and wrenching. That's the power of Maria McKee's voice. In lesser hands (think American Idol) it might not have the same convincing heft. Might not? Definitely not!



These are old-school story songs -- messages in a musical bottle -- sung at full emotional aria by Maria McKee, who apparently hasn't got the critical recognition she deserves as the forerunner of so many of today's female artists, or for her own accomplishments in their own right. The "dream album" for me now would be "Maria McKee" unplugged. Having heard enough live music without accompaniment, I'm squarely in the camp which believes the human voice -- sotto voce -- is the ultimate instrument. In the same vein,Dar Williams, Patti Griffin and Gillian Welch are all in the vanguard of pricking up the public ears and restoring the the voice to its place of rightful prominence, above and beyond the trappings of videos, mulit-million dollar concerts laden with entourages and enough special effects to hide the lack of actual talent, the countlss pretty faces who can sort of sing (Faith Hill, anyone?), and the whole "please God, let it be over soon" "new/young country" scene.)



This album isn't perfect -- if you're playing it full blast in the car with the windows down there are some songs you may want to pass over or turn the volume down on -- but it is a really satisfying showcase for Maria McKee's distinctive talent (admittedly an acquired taste, but like dark chocolate you'll end up preferring it over anything else once you've experienced it a few times). This collection deserves a thorough listen. Leave your assumptions at the door and open your ears ...





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