Gretchen Peters with Tom Russell “One To The Head, One To The Heart” (Scarlet Letter/Frontera, 2008)

Double shot of truth and beauty

Tom Russell contributes but a single song, sings on a mere four of the fourteen here and is only credited on vocals and percussion but his influence is all over this album. It starts with the cover art, two of his naive Western paintings, extends into the choice of material, which focuses heavily on the west and the Tex-Mex area he’s made his own in recent years, and culminates in his co-production, which tempers the slightly cloying vocal tendencies Peters has been occasionally prone to on her previous albums. One suspects he also had a hand in the acquiring of the legendary Barry Walsh on piano and Joel Guzman on accordion, the latter in particular contributing much of the border feel of the music.

Unusually for Peters every track is a cover, but her choices are impeccable. The pick of them is “If I Had A Gun”, a song powerful in any hands but here the listener is given a bit of a shock by having her hauntingly beautiful and rich voice sing the bleak and nihilistically violent lyrics. Not far behind is the duet on Bob Dylan’s “Billy 4” from his Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack, where Russell provides bitter granite vocals while Peters sings with gumption and conviction. That said, there really isn’t a weak track on the album and the likes of Townes van Zandt’s “Snowin' On Raton”, the blight and hope of “Wolves”, Russell’s own “Guadalupe” (“I am the least of all your pilgrims here/But the most in need of hope”) and Barry Walsh’s “North Platte” would all be standouts on lesser albums. Throughout there’s an elegiac feel and a sense of nearing the end of things which will surprise nobody who’s familiar with Russell’s recent work. Peters’ performances are a career high, and Russell continues his astonishing late run of success on what is, quite simply, as good an album as you’ll hear all year.

Date review added:  Saturday, March 21, 2009
Reviewer:  Jeremy Searle
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Gretchen Peters website