We Still Love Our Country opens with “Your Lonely Heart,” a song about meeting in a bar, written by Ben Kyle. While not the strongest track on the album, it does offer them a chance to open with some of the best harmonies this side of Emmylou Harris. Rodriguez has mentioned that Emmylou Harris was sort of a guardian angel for the whole project. That presence can be felt in the second track, a cover of Townes Van Zandt's “If I Needed You,” best known for the version Emmylou Harris did with Don Williams. Their version is reminiscent of that iconic version, while falling just short of its excellence. Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle co-penned the delightful third track. “Fire Alarm” is a witty back and forth between a man who “ain't had a job since he was thirty” and a woman who “talks too much but she don't talk pretty,” which pays homage to John Prine's “In Spite Of Ourselves.” Rodriguez returns to her roots on the fourth track when she and Kyle cover Chip Taylor's “Big Kiss.” Their cover has the same shimmering beauty of such Taylor/Rodriguez songs as “Big Moon Shining.” They follow this up with a cover of George Jones' “You're Still On My Mind.” Its only the second song, after “Your Lonely Heart,” that Kyle sings lead on. That, and the over all theme, makes it feel like a follow up, the end of the relationship that began with the first track. Rodriguez and Kyle follow this up with with one of John Prine's lesser known songs, “Unwed Fathers.” Their gentle, almost lulling, version of the track quietly captures all the angst and uncertainty of a teenage mother to be waiting for the bus out of town “while unwed fathers they can't be bothered, they run like water through a mountain stream.” Their next cover is the Hazel Houser classic “My Baby's Gone.” While their rendition does have that early 1970's folk-rock-gone-country vibe of The Birds and The Eagles, it owes far more to The Louvin Brothers than to Dottie West. The album closes with another track made famous by Emmylou Harris, Boudleaux Bryant's “Love Hurts,” famously covered by Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons. Again, Rodriguez and Kyle do not quite measure up to that lofty goal, but they do a very lovely rendition.
Country music has a longstanding history of duets and collaborations. Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle both have a great knowledge of and respect for the partnerships that came before them. The one down side of this album is that it tends to show a little to much respect to them, with few songs breaking out of the mold or doing anything original. However, are a lot of other things which do make this a remarkable and memorable album. The harmonies are a shimmering thing of beauty, which may well be a joy forever. Rodriguez's fiddle playing is, as always, top notch, and she also offers a few sumptuous moments on the tenor guitar. There is also a lot of lovely steel guitar courtesy of Kyle's band mate Luke Jacobs. This album is a deliberate and loving tribute to country music, back when it had real meaning and real twang. And, as such, this is an album fans who have been missing that sort of country will enjoy for years to come.
You can support Carrie Rodriguez by purchasing this album at Amazon | iTunes.
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