After decades in the country music industry and recording for various labels (big and small), Mandy Barnett is back with Strange Conversation, a record where she showcases a record which will appeal to a wide variety of people, especially people who enjoy stylish vocals. Always blessed with the kind of vocals other singers would die for, Barnett really feels at home on Strange Conversation, a project released by her own Dame Productions and Thirty Tigers.
Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Strange Conversation finds Mandy Barnett at home in the bluesy and soulful side of country music and the two song opening punch of “More Lovin’” and “It’s All Right (Just In Love)” showcase where the album is going but it’s never far from Barnett’s recent oeuvre of classic country songs, it’s just that the talented vocalist showcases great songs and makes them her own and “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done,” the playful duet with John Hiatt, is spot on perfect in blending her smooth vocal with his raspy wail. Other moments which require multiple listens include the title track “Strange Conversation,” “Puttin’ On The Dog” and “The Fool.”
While this record won’t necessarily garner much “love” in the mainstream, the nuanced, expertly curated and produced Strange Conversation is perhaps the best record of Mandy Barnett’s career.
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