Natasha James - Tequila Time
In a radio climate full of loud, heavily produced songs filled with guitar riffs straight out of the 80's, it's very refreshing to come across a country album that sounds a little bit country. Natasha James delivers a throw back album that makes me long for the days when they played fiddle and steel on country radio, and not in the "See, look, we're country, we have fiddle!" kind of way. Sadly, it seems as though we have to look somewhere besides the Nashville city limits to find it.
Based out of California, Ms. James makes it clear that there is still a little bit of Gram Parsons and the Byrds alive out along the West Coast, as well as some Fleetwood Mac. "Tequila Time" is a country rock album to make Laurel Canyon proud. At 15 songs, this record runs the gamut of topics, from the all knowing regret of a foolhearted decision in "Straight To Hell", to the frustration we all know of staring at an airport runway for hours on end in "Stuck In Atlanta".
Fine playing and very original writing graces this album, though Ms. James singing leaves a little to be desired for my taste in places, mostly on the slower, sparser songs where there isn't quite as much of that playing to accent her voice. Most of the songs here are written solely with her own pen, allowing for a lot of consistency in the personality throughout, though trying to keep that personality led to a couple of misses in song choice (see "Takes Alotta Love" and "Tequila Time"). All in all, a pretty good album, despite it's few flaws in vocals. It's a shame Ms. James is all the way out West, she'd fit right in here in Nashville.
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