Singer-songwriter Skylar Gregg displays a far-reaching range and some beautiful vocal ornamentation without making her singing sound overdone, forced or strained at all on her latest album, Roses, drawing inspiration from soulful country, Southern rock and Americana traditions with a dash of jazziness.
Gregg seems to have developed precise control of her pipes, going from soulfully belting it out, deep and husky, to high, wispy and angelic at various points throughout the release.
The tunes on Roses, while mostly under the mid-tempo, Southern singer-songwriter banner, have a good range as well, moving from fun to introspective, with creative grooves provided by her excellent band underneath.
The opener, “Long Way Back,” drips with passion and soul, bringing to mind the warm rock sounds of the ’70s with its swinging groove and slide guitar. The editor in me wants to whack off the last word in the repeated it’s a long way back to where you started from (unnecessary preposition!), but it’s okay. The word is rhythmically useful and helps make a very catchy hook, and the song rocks. The backing band sounds great, supplying layers of organ and horns.
The sound migrates to a combination of fiddle, whining pedal steel and rim clicks for the more countrified title track, Roses, capturing a classically forlorn country style that could do George, Merle or Waylon proud. They say to stop and smell the roses, Lord I ain’t got enough time / Roses smell like death to me, remind me of old memories, Gregg sings just before country piano licks transition into an instrumental break.
“Never Enough” contains an absolutely beautiful melody and elsewhere on he album the artist sings that she’s been so many people, don’t remember where I’m from.
Skylar Gregg. Photo by Alaina Broyles
The collection has a country flavor to it, but Gregg doesn’t use an exaggerated Southern accent. She seems to have found her own vocal personality, perhaps taking some inspiration from Susan Tedeschi and Sheryl Crow as well as country powerhouses such as Tammy, Trisha and Martina. There’s even something about the richness and fullness of Gregg’s vocals on “Have You Ever Tried to Lose Your Mind,” just letting go and focusing on nothing in the world other than singing, as she sings Maybe it’s for the best, that has a Celine Dion kind of way to it.
To balance any tendency toward the operatic and dramatic, Gregg breaks out a humorous country tune, “Drunk in Nashville,” suggesting that drinking anywhere else just ain’t the same. If there were ever a tune built to be blasted from a Nashville pedal tavern as the gals sing along raucously while they roll down the honky-tonk-lined streets, this may be it.
Though the release is billed as a Gregg solo record, the artist surrounds herself with an great team, including husband Taylor Lonardo on bass, former Rhythm Kitchen mates Heather Moulder and Joey Fletcher, and a host of other Greggs on background vocals, among others.
This group could potentially put on an incredible live performance, maybe allowing all of the instrumentalists more of a chance to shine, turning some of the three-minute ditties into epic, extended exploratory jams.
But for those who enjoy a very well crafted record of a Southern gal just singing her songs (which also touch on the legend of the Bell Witch, the Murfreesboro landfill and the relaxing, sweet Southern strain of a certain plant), with a very polished bunch of players backing, give Roses a listen.
