Like A Rose

“I'm still bouncing back, heaven only knows
How I came out like a rose”

I remember several years ago hearing Ashley Monroe’s duet with Ronnie Dunn, entitled “I Don’t Want To” and while it didn’t receive a lot of radio play, I did enjoy her voice. I also remember hearing her song Satisfied a few times and as well, being enchanted by the video. Shortly after this happened, she drifted off of my radar until about 2011 when her trio with Angaleena Presley and Miranda Lambert made their first appearance. This caused me to remember what a brief fan I was and also delve into more research about her. I learned that she wrote one of my favorite songs of the decade, “The Truth” by Jason Aldean. When I heard a few months ago that she was releasing this CD, I knew I needed to support this talented artist. I am not sure if this was going to be available in stores, so I ordered it via Bestbuy.com

I think the name “Like A Rose” is incredibly apropos, this will be the blooming for her.  Her voice and writing meld perfectly together to provide a traditional, for lack of a better term, sounding country experience.   

“You always want me, you run straight for me
Down the mountain like a raging fire
And the storm is comin', I can hear the warning
I know you're a lie
But you got me now, yea
Oh oh, you got me now”

Upon first listen, I found the song “You Got Me”, which she wrote with Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town to be fairly unassuming. That was until it reached the chorus. There was an immense intensity shown, demonstrated by the string section and the background vocals provided by Little Big Town. Something about the lyrics in the chorus and the performance of them really touched me. I went back immediately after first listen to give it another one.  The song is about something that traps you and you eventually have to give in and admit that “you’ve got me”

“The morning after the storm
The morning after all the rain
When you wake up and you realize
That you'll never be the same.”

 You’d think that after the first verse of  “The Morning After”, that she is singing about a hangover, and while that is the case, it is not necessarily the more common hangover that she is referring to. She is telling the story of heartbreak. The hangover of love. I assume it is something to the effect of you wake up after all the turmoil and promise yourself you will never make the same mistake again, yet you can’t help but want to fall again, with hopes that you can avoid the hangover

“Ah they're gonna die trying to track me down
But they'll never catch Monroe Suede” 

Much like the title track of “Like A Rose” told her story, “Monroe Suede” is a more fictionalized account of her story. In this she is an outlaw with a third grade education (she reached 10th grade) who is running from the law and doing it successfully. It is a fun song

“But in the end, I'll be worth a whole lot more
Used”

The song “Used” was released on her Satisfied record and much the same as is told in the song, it was better after being “used”. I think that it actually is a highlight that out of all the songs that re-appeared, this is the one that does, just because there is a parallels between the song and the situation of it being re-recorded.

“Let's dance all night
And fill the jukebox full of quarters
Cause you ain't Dolly
No, and you ain't Porter”

The song “You Ain’t Dolly (You Ain’t Porter) with Blake Shelton is a humorous song that reminds me of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty’s “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man”, (which while not being a humorous song, is the first song that came to mind). Their voices fit together well and I think that due to Blake Shelton’s recent blockbuster success, this song will reveal Ashley Monroe to a greater audience.

“I don't need a card from Hallmark
Box of candy, heaven knows
Give me weed instead of roses
Let's see where it goes”

 Ashley Monroe co-wrote the song “Weed Instead of Roses” with Sally Barris and Jon McElroy when she was 19 and  somehow it ended up on a compilation for producer Vince Gill. Vince loved it so much that he said he would not do the record if it did not end up recorded. It’s a lighthearted song about how variety can be the spice of relationships. It may also be the first country song that I know of to reference whips and chains.

“The thing she's doing's already been done
The heart she's winning's already been won
The wheels are turning, baby I ain't blind
She's driving me out of your mind”

The way I have  interpreted “She’s Driving Me Out Of Your Mind” is the narrator is losing a man, that she stole from another woman, to another woman. Whether that is the case here or not, it is clear she can see the signs of her significant other falling for someone because she has seen those signs before when he fell for her.

“So the man is gone
What a damn cliche'
And my mama says
Looks like I've gained some weight
Landlord's at the door
He says the rent can't wait
But I'm a dollar short
And two weeks late”

“Two Weeks Late” is a funny song about how a newly pregnant woman gets left by her husband and she may end up kicked out of her house because she can’t pay her rent. It is a lot like “Dang Me” by Roger Miller (which I don’t think had Roger as pregnant but still the humor of down on their luck people is the same) 

 Overall, I love love love this record and recommend it to anyone who loves the sound of traditional country music. I keep falling in love with different songs for different reasons and that is something that I believe should happen with all music.

I Feel A Blog Comin’ On

It has been a long time since I wrote one of these. Over 6 months. It has been so long in fact that I forgot not only what topics I had covered but I forgot what the name of this blog was.

I am gonna go into this return engagement very slowly. Don’t want to jump into a big engagement before mysteriously calling off the tour just weeks after the 2nd album drops

Annies Down?

(Apparently not)

So I will just run through my musical tastes the past few months. I purchased 5 cds thus far this year. (First time I have even done one since about 2007)

Those 5 being:

 

The one shown above. Annie Up by The Pistol Annies (who apparently have not broken up). In comparison to their first CD from 2011, I am not as happy with it. It has very strong points such as “Don’t Talk About Him, Tina”, which I believe to be the top song of the bunch and I Feel A Sin Comin’ On (BLOG TITLE INSPIRATION~!), but I am let down by the single choice they made and fearing that it would be the last one (because you know, near break up). Hush Hush was a weak song in my opinion and didn’t fit for a March release because it was based around Christmas. The video turned it around for me, so I have warmed up on it spectacularly. Ashley Monroe’s verse is angelic. Most inspired weed reference in Country Music I had heard since….

 

“Weed Instead of Roses” on Like a Rose by Ashley Monroe. Like A Rose was the first of the 5  CD’s I purchased, the one that ended the 5+ year drought of me not purchasing music and I don’t think I could have made a better choice. I am not gonna say that this release “saved” country music, but I will say it damn sure is some of the best straight country music I have heard in a LONG time and will likely be getting a spinoff blog.

The oldest CD I bought was Part II by Brad Paisley, 12 years post release (took weeks for me to track down/acquire). Brad is probably my favorite male artist in the genre and I was sad I hadn’t heard this album and even sadder I didn’t own a version of
“I’m Gonna Miss Her”

 

Brad Paisley’s WheelHouse (Deluxe Edition because I wanted MORE SONGS~!) is next (in order of purchase it came 2nd behind Ashley Monroe and just ahead of Part II and Annie Up, which arrived simultaneously). I enjoy it tremendously and it too will get a spinoff but there were a few songs here that I didn’t care for, specifically the duet with LL Cool J. With near 20 songs, a few misses are allowable I guess.

FIFTH ONE AND MOST RECENT

Same Trailer, Different Park  by Kacey Musgraves (I guess commas don’t look good on covers). Also, spinoff coming. But to keep this from basically being a tease for future blogs, let me just say I find her absolutely delightful. Closer in age to me than Miranda and Ashley Monroe (a week older rather than 5 years and 2 years respectively), so I find what she is saying more relatable (this sounds stupid, I know this). Her voice is angelic. She has written every song on the album plus one for Miranda Lambert – “Mama’s Broken Heart” .