Nashville Tears

On 2020s Nashville Tears, singer Rumer applies her deeply moving vocal style to the music of beloved country songwriter Hugh Prestwood. A collaboration with Canadian producer Fred Mollin (Jimmy Webb, America, Kris Kristofferson), the album is a fitting addition to the singers catalog, with songs that tap Prestwoods deep well of poetic, everyday sadness. Born in Pakistan and raised in England, Rumer moved to the United States around the time of her third album, 2014s Into Colour, and has lived in the country music-friendly states of Arkansas and Georgia. Prior to that, she built a loyal following with her delicate 60s- and 70s-inspired orchestral pop sound. Its an approach that has found her covering the works of influential songwriters like Jimmy Webb, David Gates, Paul Williams, and as on 2016s This Girls in Love, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. With Nashville Tears, she and Mollin take a similar approach, digging into Prestwoods nuanced songbook. A successful if somewhat lesser-appreciated Nashville stalwart, Prestwood has written songs for a bevy of country stars, including Alison Krauss, Randy Travis, and Barbara Mandrell. While the bulk of Nashville Tears focuses on his more obscure material, there are hits here, including Ghost in This House (recorded by Shenandoah in 1990), and The Song Remembers When (a Top Ten single for Trisha Yearwood in 1993). The album also harks back to the grandiose analog studio productions of the 70s as Mollin frames Rumer in delicate string, pedal steel, and organ arrangements, most supplied by Rumers husband, longtime Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach music director Rob Shirakbari. Also adding to the albums warm country vibes are Lost Hollow singers Tommy and Lorrie Harden, vocalist Mandy Barnett, guitarist Pat Buchanan, and other Nashville luminaries. Central on the album is Rumers buoyant version of Hard Time for Lovers, originally recorded by Judy Collins as the title track to her 1979 album. The Collins connection works as a thoughtful touchstone throughout Nashville Tears as Rumers soft, warm vocals nicely evoke Collins own pure, unadorned approach. Its a style that fits well with Prestwoods songs, many of which, including Oklahoma Stray, June Its Gonna Happen, and Thats That (a hit for Michael Johnson in 1988), showcase his gift for using nature as a metaphor, illuminating how the landscapes that surround us often echo our most intense desires. On Thats That, Rumer sings, Theres a weeping willow on the outskirts of town/Where I took a pocket knife and carved out our names/In the morning I am gonna cut that tree down/Gonna build a fire and watch us go up in flames. ~ Matt Collar

バカラック& デヴィッド作品集に続くこの5作目において彼女が取り組んでいるのは、カントリー・テイストをベースにしたまろやかなアコースティック・ポップ作り。ペダル・スティールの響きなどの影響で全体的にアーシーな風合いは高めだが、情緒豊かな演奏陣とのマッチングが絶妙だし、何よりも歌声のふくよかさがいっそう増している点は見逃せない。"Bristlecone Pine"などに色濃く浮かぶUKフォーク的な味わいもまた新鮮。
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