Styles: Folk
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:30
Size: 86,4 MB
Art: Front
(2:53) 1. Better Times Will Come
(3:44) 2. All God's Children
(4:25) 3. Henry Russell's Last Words
(3:41) 4. If I Had a Gun
(3:00) 5. Soldier Girl
(3:17) 6. Cracked and Broken
(2:34) 7. Ballad of the Poor Child
(3:45) 8. Appalachia
(3:11) 9. Evangelina
(4:00) 10. Something Crossed Over
(2:55) 11. The Day I Die
Diana Jones had released two finely crafted albums in the 1990s, but it wasn't until she released "My Remembrance of You" in 2006 that she found her own voice and broke out of the singer-songwriter pack to emerge as a major figure in Americana music. She had discovered a connection, both biological and artistic, to the sounds of old-time Appalachia, unleashing her private muse and creating a record that landed on best-of-the-year lists in the Chicago Tribune and the Nashville Scene. The three years since that breakthrough have been a whirlwind. Diana has landed the opening slot on high-profile European tours with Richard Thompson and Mary Gauthier and has been the featured invitee at folk festivals in Ireland, England, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. One of her songs, "Henry Russell's Last Words," has been recorded by Joan Baez, while another, "If I Had a Gun," has been recorded by Gretchen Peters. Diana's own versions of those songs can be heard on her new album, "Better Times Will Come," an ambitious effort that consolidates and extends the leap forward of the preceding record. Diana's fellow singer-songwriters certainly recognize the quality of her new work. Gauthier, Nanci Griffith and Betty Elders add vocals to the project, and the Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor adds fiddle. The acoustic string-band arrangements, anchored by fiddler Alicia Jo Rabins,A voice as earthy,pure and clear as a newly discovered Appalachian spring, and songs so strong Joan Baez is moved to cover them ... sitting somewhere between Gillian Welch and a mellow Lucinda Williams, this is an absolute gem of a record, both warm and wonderful. ***** 5 Stars ~ The Scotsman,February 22nd,2009
Jones engenders great respect amongst her peers. Additional vocals are suplied by Mary Gauthier, Nancy Griffith and Betty Elders while Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor provides fiddle ... I am struggling to find any kind of flaw in an album that is just about perfect in every way
~ Country Music People, February 27th,2009
Whether telling her own or anothers story, Jones's poetic eye for detail draws listeners close within her narrative allowing them to identify with and share the emotions of her protagonists ***** 5 Stars ~ Rock N Reel,February 22nd,2009 bassist Paul Kochanski and multi-instrumentalist Duke Levine, are deceptively simple, for their restraint reveals the haunting originality of the melodies and the understated skill of the performances. This reflects the deceptive simplicity of the lyrics, which tell their stories with the hypnotic repetition and plain speech of old mountain song. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Better-Times-Will-Diana-Jones/dp/B001MYZ2OW
