By Paul T. Mueller
Jennifer Brantley’s It’s All Good is a breath of fresh air, which is a little ironic considering that a lot of it sounds like it could have been made decades ago. This is country music the way it used to be, played on real instruments, sung with skill and feeling, and with lyrics that don’t all involve beer and pickup trucks.
Brantley, currently of East Nashville, leads off with “I’m Right Here,” a you-done-me-wrong lament set to a classic Western swing melody featuring piano, fiddle and steel guitar. It’s an excellent showcase for Brantley’s fine voice, which covers a wide range with plenty of power. Her writing ability (and that of that of co-writers Gerald Smith and Lisa Shaffer) is also on display here. The same trio also penned “I’d Rather Have a Lonely Heart,” a sad ballad that features nice interplay between fiddle and piano, along with some nice harmony vocals.
Other highlights include Blind Willie Johnson’s “God Don’t Ever Change,” which gets a rocking gospel treatment fueled by soulful organ and electric guitar, and a live version of Roger Miller’s “Half a Mind,” which was a hit for Ernest Tubb. Brantley’s rendition comes from a performance on the Midnite Jamboree radio show at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville, and features Leon Rhodes, former ace guitarist with Tubb’s Texas Troubadours. Leaning a little more to the pop side is “Just Hearing a Song,” a lively tribute to the power of music and memory.
A couple of tracks sound like they might be aimed at country radio airplay, but even so they’re done with the taste that marks the rest of the album. The title track is a gentle ode to counting one’s blessings, against a backdrop of acoustic guitar and fiddle; “Somebody’s Somebody” is a sentimental tale of orphans and the elderly that would have sounded at home on a Kathy Mattea album back in the ’80s.
It’s a little hard to tell from the liner notes who’s doing what, but contributors include guitarist David Hand, who also plays harmonica and helped produce; former Box Top Swain Shaefer, who contributes keyboards; Mike Daly on steel guitar, and an unidentified fiddle player who really deserves some recognition.
There’s still some room for growth here – Brantley’s twang occasionally sounds a bit forced, and there’s a chorus or two that could be nailed down a little tighter. Nitpicking aside, It’s All Good is a fine effort. Extra points to the producers (Vaughan Lofstead and Greg Perkins are credited along with Brantley and Hand), for keeping it clean and bringing out the best in this talented bunch.
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