Behind every great man is an even greater woman so they say. In the
case of Tom Ovans that appears to be true. Although she's been quietly
pushing her partner into the spotlight over the past few years we
mustn't forget that Lou Ann Bardash is an equal and multi-talented
artist. She may have only produced the above 'At the Vortex' disc but
it still deserves the praise it garnered when released in 1997. It was
variously lauded as 'original/new country blues','dark and alluring'
and even 'post modern country blues'. From those snippets it is
obvious that there's more than a little of Tom O's blues roots in the
mix but it's knowledgeable stuff - check the covers of the Art Hodes
Trio and Bessie Smith for starters. Then there's an up-tempo take on
Leonard Cohen's 'Tower of Song'. In fact the rest of the cd is
drenched in quality as are the backing musicians that can boast time
served with the likes of Lambchop/ Steve Earle and Wilco. They say you
can judge a person by the company they keep!
Also there's Tom himself
and by far my favourite track has to be the fantastic take on his song
'Gone to Mexico'. Although recorded in Nashville there's a real
Austin/ Calexico desert sound to this recording. 'Oklahoma 1912' sets
Woody Guthrie's biography to a desert-rock soundtrack. No slouch in
the lyrical department from this evidence.
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The nearest sonic
equivalent to the sound of this record is the vocals of the lead
singer in The Cowboy Junkies whilst at other times there's a real
shading of Lucinda Williams. In fact the vocals are more Lou Ann than
any of these and when showcased with her jazz scatting over a backing
as blues and rackety as Bessie's 'Sorrowful Blues' or as country-noir
as on the impressive story song 'Sophie Frankenstein' it seems certain
that she deserves more recognition. Usually the 'New Shoes' feature
looks at new artist's releases but I think Lou Ann deserves another spin with
this recording. Maybe an enterprising indie will take it up? Whatever
happens I'll be waiting for the next installment eagerly. Meanwhile
visit the NSR website at
http://nsr.home.texas.net
to not only view information
on the two of them but also a whole lot of Lou Ann's paintings.
There's a drawing by Lou Ann which illustrates a Doug
Hoekstra story on another page of FSR and above is one of her
paintings. A very talented lady and one
we'll all be hearing more from I'm sure.
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