Barnyard Beehive＜限定盤/Pink Clear Vinyl＞

カントリー音楽の殿堂に挑戦する女性シンガーを収録したコンピレーション。
収録アーティスト : Joyce Street/Judy Brackin/Jenny Jordan with Billy Carnes and The Lee Riders/Vanita Thompson/Edna Lee/Cathy Collins/Connie Caddell/Ellie Shepherd and the Countrymen など18アーティストを収録。

In 2018, the Numero Group label released Basement Beehive, an astounding various-artists compilation that collected fantastically obscure artifacts of the girl group era. For anyone already well-versed in the better-known girl groups of the 1960s, the comp was a vault of underground delights and previously unheard gems. Barnyard Beehive follows the same framework that made Basement Beehive such a success, only this time assembling 16 tracks of overlooked female country artists. With material primarily from the 60s and early 70s, the sound explored here was aiming for the peak heights that Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and other country queens were enjoying then. Its a mystery why many of the artists showcased here lingered in the shadows instead of finding fame, as almost every track is a winner and many are at the level of quality and artistry that produced radio hits for bigger artists. Vanita Thompsons "You Always Break My Heart" is a honky tonk romp with dazzling pedal steel and a perfectly controlled vocal performance, and "I Love You Only" by Ellie Shepard and the Countrymen is a dreamy ballad that glides with the grace and emotional clarity of Patsy Cline. Molly Fays "The Bottle or Me" is musically light, while the content is considerably more dire, with the narrator giving her drunkard spouse an ultimatum to stop his nights out drinking or lose his family. Its a heavy message delivered in a sunny country-pop package. Jenny Jordans "Walking in the Sunshine of Your Love" also goes in an AM pop direction, with a peppy beat and radiant vocal harmonies. As with Basement Beehive, some of Barnyard Beehives most interesting tracks are the ones that aimed for commercial appeal but landed in weirder places. Connie Caddells sweet-sounding "Angel" is set up like a comforting storytelling song, but slowly reveals itself as more of a creepy tale of haunted love and melodramatic teen tragedy. Mona Lunsford turns in some rowdy, low-rent rockabilly with "Im Getting Restless" and Katy Crickets "Society Girl" is an awkwardly shaped hoedown tune, with rusty fiddles and fluid guitar runs backing up the curiously stilted vocals. This compilation is a must for country fans who have already gone beneath the surface with more popular artists and are looking for the thrill of something amazing theyve never heard before. Depending on the track, Barnyard Beehive offers the sublime, the strange, and the uproarious, but no song disappoints. ~ Fred Thomas