Country for True Lovers

LA chanteuse, purveyor of noir, swingy, twangy, dark perfection, the sweetest sassiest sexiest saddest voice/songwriter in the entire world releases a collection of country songs all in the perfect spirit of the greats: Kitty, Patsy, Willie, Porter…sigh. Eleni Mandell seems to be LA’s best kept secret- previous releases have bordered on perfection (see Snakebite). Her talent has attracted all star musicians as band members in the past and this time she has players worthy of the best. The few classic covers she includes on this blend seamlessly with her own tunes, underscoring the magnificence of her songwriting. Okay, I’ll stop gushing and just admit that she is probably my favorite current singer/songwriter at this time. For those of you who simply can't do country, check out her previous releases (Snakebite, Thrill- play “he thinks hes in love”). Do yourself a favor- don’t miss out on this.

1) slow simple trad western, sad and blue
2) live previous w/ another great lyrical hook
3) mid-up contry swing, Merle Haggard cover
4) triplet waltzy swingy
5) traditional (cover), beautiful
6) upbeat honkey tonk
7) ahh! Just tear my heart out right now… slow sad soulful and fucking unbelievable
8) slow waltz… did I say sad?
9) funky honky tonk, all cylinders- every record of hers has a sassy sexy tip the scales (no, break the scale with springs flying and glass shattering) song, and this one is it
10) slow , sparse, just kill me now, please…
11) sparse western folky, slow mid
12) slow, sparse, beautiful hook, classic