You have to love Nell Robinson’s story. From a booklet accompanying her new CD “On the Brooklyn Road: “So I just turned 50 and one of my good friends characterized my new-found devotion to music as a midlife crisis. I sang by myself in my car for 30 years and ventured out to sing in public at age 45. All I can say is, if you have music in your soul, bring it out. It has changed my life.”
OK, I’ll admit that’s not encouraging. Midlife crises can spur inappropriate relationships, red sports cars and bad poetry. But in this case, it inspires a warm and engaging folk/bluegrass album.
It’s a mix of originals and well-selected covers like Loretta Lynn’s “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” and “Turn Your Radio On.”
The latter figures prominently in a piece Nell Robinson wrote about her appearance on Praire Home Companion and the loss of her father. It’s very touching.
The album includes two bonus songs recorded by the Henriettas, a duo consisting of Nell and Cary Sheldon that channels the DeZurik Sisters, a 1930s duo also known as the Cackle Sisters. Very entertaining.