Grey DeLisle is a Grammy award-winning singer songwriter who has returned to recording after a twenty-year hiatus, with her new album `She’s An Angel` which features fourteen songs, all written or co-written by DeLisle, with the exception of a cover of Billy Vera’s ‘I Really Got The Feeling,’ originally written for Dolly Parton.
The album opens with `I’ll Go Back to Denver(and You Can Go to Hell)` a tale of how to really end a relationship after a partner has cheated and drained your finances. This isn`t a `Jolene` scenario , far from it. A number that keeps you involved as it evolves. I think `Stick and Poke` may well be a metaphor for something other than the tattoo the narrator seems to be regretting. A brief number where the regret is almost tangible in the vocal delivery.
`Wasted` is a fairly introspective number about moving on from a relationship where too much time has been invested when it`s going nowhere. There`s a real sense of cleansing and optimism in what`s to come with some delightful pedal steel tones adding a sense of purging. We enjoy another tale of vengeance with `I Missed You` a real foot tapper with intricate guitar chords and a rhythmic drumbeat.
Title track `She’s An Angel` is a fairly heartbreaking listen as it reveals a child`s life from birth to death from the mother`s intimate memories. We enjoy a co-write with Robert Williams (aka Big Sandy of Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys Rite Boys) on `I Like the Way You Think I Think` which for me had a kind of `Blue Moon Of Kentucky` vibe.
`Cowboy Joe` is another narrative expressing a love that continues beyond the grave, a further gentle foot tapper. Another love gone wrong situation comes with the questioning `Who Bought the Boots Beside Your Bed?`.
`The Dog` is a comic duet sung with Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel which had a sort of Kenny Rogers `Lucille` texture but about a dog !! We have a more country blues feel to `Shake that Thing` which has some really enticing fiddle tones.
I have to say I really loved `Everybody’s Baby` which for me was a country classic, a number I’d select on a jukebox and know it would certainly fill the floor. For some reason `Big Sister` brought to mind the rockabilly version of `Baby Let`s Play House` from Elvis`s Sun Sessions.
There`s a delightful vulnerability to `I Really Got the Feeling` a number that portrays that warmth and emotion when you`ve found your soul mate and nothing else matters. The album closes out with `Quit Pickin’ on Me` which is the sort of song that was covered by country tinged showbands that played at Summer festivals on my annual holidays in Ireland when I was young. Delightful and delightfully nostalgic for me.
There was so much to enjoy with `She’s An Angel` and Grey DeLisle has such a captivating vocal range and delivers songs with enough variety to retain your interest throughout. The musicianship is second to none with Deke Dickerson and Eddie Clendening producing and playing along with DJ Bonebrake (Lone Justice, X,) on vibes, Bernie Dresel (Brian Setzer) on drums & T. Jarrod Bonta (Charley Crockett/ Jimmie Vaughan) on piano.
All that`s left to say is welcome back Grey DeLisle, we`ve missed you.
Rating 8/10
