Album Review – Kree Harrison’s “This Old Thing”
We first learned about Kree Harrison when she became the runner-up on American Idol in 2013—not exactly the best foot to start off on with country music traditionalists or throwback Muscle Shoals soul aficionados. But she did perform songs from Patty Griffin, Susan Tedeschi, and Kris Kristofferson during the competition, so it wasn’t all bad. And after her American Idol run, it appeared she was immediately being groomed for a career in country music. Kree performed at the CMT Awards later that summer, and with the talk just starting to center on where country music would find its next female superstars, Kree Harrison’s name came up in the conversation quite often.
But then she disappeared for three years. Where did she go? I’m honestly asking because I have no idea. Apparently Universal Music Group Nashville officially passed on Harrison during the summer of 2013, and poof, whatever momentum she built up from her penultimate placing on American Idol went out the window. Another opportunity for a potential female country star of substance and appeal squandered.
And perhaps that was a good thing. If Music Row would have gotten hold of Kree Harrison, it would have been a radio-friendly lead single alienating her core fans that would have been rejected by radio anyway, a delayed EP that would go generally ignored when it was released, leading to being unceremoniously dropped from whatever label took a chance on her to begin with.
Many say that if Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, or Waylon Jennings were alive today, Nashville would completely ignore them. Well if Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline were around today, Music Row would figure out a away to squander their entire careers with quizzical missteps and misappropriated resources. Music Row has no idea what to do with women artists. Remember how promising Mickey Guyton and her single “Better Than You Left Me” were a while ago? Now it seems her mainstream career is all but over. Brandy Clark just released one of the best country records this year, and it was virtually dead on arrival. All the talk of supporting female artists in country has yet to translate into anything meaningful unless you’re a female playing pop music.
So though it may not help her personal wealth or public brand, perhaps it was good for Kree Harrison that Music Row took a pass. Screw all that mess; you might as well do what you want because there’s a good chance it’s going to be willfully disregarded by the mainstream anyway. And that is what Kree Harrison has clearly done on her debut record, This Old Thing.
Yet the title track and lead single released in April could be a little hard for a country fan to warm up to. It’s not that “This Old Thing” was nonsense pandering or pop paraded as country. It was an entirely other adverse trend in independent country right now: country artists putting out horn-driven vintage-styled R&B songs.
This whole Memphis/Muscle Shoals movement isn’t acrid in itself. Much of the music is downright excellent, and a healthier alternative to country pop for sure. It’s just how pervasive this trend has become in east Nashville and beyond. Sure, let Lake Street Dive and Anderson East partake because it’s what they built their career upon. But I don’t need to hear funky blue-eyed soul coming from Corb Lund. It’s not uncommon as an independent country music fan to feel abandoned in 2016 because of all the horn sections and funky rhythms.
But This Old Thing could be fairly characterized as the tale of two records. On one side are the jangly, horn-driven tunes, and on the other are stiff-backed and fairly straightforward traditional country songs. Kree Harrison couldn’t make her mind up, so she did both, and did both fairly well, and quite surprisingly for someone whose biggest bullet point so far is an American Idol placing.
Along with covering the Harland Howard classic “He Called Me Baby” once recorded by Patsy Cline, Kree Harrison puts together quite a few co-penned, excellently-written trad. country tearjerkers that are hard to criticize. “Something Else” and “Drinking For Two” can stand on their hind legs and makes a fist in front of any other traditional country song by a modern artist. Other selections are a bit more contemporary country, like “Outta My Mind” and “Your Whiskey,” yet still feel very much like traditional country songs in the songwriting and some of the styling.
Ultimately the country material comprises the minority of this record, but it doesn’t feel like as much of a loss because Kree Harrison does the throwback soul thing so well. All of This Old Thing‘s selections fall generally under the “vintage” category, or could be characterized as Americana. There is great songwriting throughout this record, and Kree’s pen is featured on 9 of the album’s 13 tracks. Recorded in North Carolina as opposed to Nashville, This Old Thing was allowed to breath on its own and flap its wings without worrying about prying eyes or compromises to meet someone else’s standards.
This album will not go anywhere, because that’s just the way of things, and the singles have already bombed. As we’ve seen countless times from reality TV stars, that attention rarely translates after the season finale, especially if there is an extended pause like Kree experienced. But if nothing else, This Old Thing fleshed out that Kree Harrison is not a mainstream reject, she is an Americana hopeful. Instead of starring at a future of slogging it out with mainstream execs to record the music she wants, she can build grassroots support behind quality songs and recordings on the path to a sustainable career.
Kree has the talent and the songs, she just needs to find her lane and the reception she deserves. It could be through her songwriting, or it could be through her performance. But it should be somewhere, and somewhere where her warm reception is due not to her American Idol lineage, but in spite of it.
1 1/2 Guns Up (7/10)
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July 25, 2016 @ 8:28 am
Thanks for reviewing this Trigger. I actually only know about Kree because of her stint on American Idol and have been periodically checking for new music from her ever since. I think Kacey Musgraves and Misa even made an appearance during her season to support her. After having a failed record deal as a child, losing both of her parents by the time she was 16 or 17 years old, and kind of disappearing after finishing as runner-up on Idol, I’m glad Kree finally has a record out. As you mention, it may be for the best that she didn’t end up putting something out quickly after Idol and not as part of a major label.
I still don’t buy into the “country music must evolve” nonsense, but if evolution is more like this and what is coming out of East Nashville, I’ll take that over the evolution we are seeing in mainstream country.
July 25, 2016 @ 11:00 am
The line is buried in your story…but it’s criminal that the Brandy Clark album is not receiving the “Margo Price treatment”. It should be receiving even better.
July 25, 2016 @ 2:12 pm
Totally with you about horns. Can they PLEASE get the f out of acoustic music.
The most annoying track on Jekyll and Hyde is mango tree and that’s saying something.
Also sturgill, can you remix sgte? No horns please.
July 25, 2016 @ 5:53 pm
I don’t have a problem with horns in general. Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, and Lyle Lovett used them effectively in country music for years. The problem today is everyone’s doing it simply because it’s trendy. Are the fans clamoring for horns? If they are, I haven’t seen them. It’s fashion, and usually superfluous to the music. A lot of the horns have to do with self-indulgence as opposed to supplying some needed element to the music.
July 25, 2016 @ 2:33 pm
Hey Trig,
Just a heads up. I just read that 30 people were arrested at a Guns & Roses show in New Jersey. We’ve had discussions on this blog about whether it’s country shows specifically that results in tons of arrests. I thought this was something kind of relevant to the discussion. Also, it seems this summer country concert season wasn’t as disastrous as the past two. Any thoughts?
July 25, 2016 @ 5:36 pm
In defense of GnR this was the first incident at any one of their shows. I was at the Pittsburg show and it was great no incident that I know of and the whole Bro Country fans trashing parking lots held true, the parking lot at the GnR concert was pristine with all trash neatly placed in trash bags.
July 25, 2016 @ 5:50 pm
I have generally given into the whiners who think the only reason I was reporting on the incidents at country concerts was because I hated the music, even though I’ve reported on similar things for smaller festivals and involving independent artists. Unless it is something very big, I tend to steer clear. And Guns N Roses isn’t exactly in the country realm. I do agree it does give some good context on these incidents, but there’s bigger fish to fry. I don;t think the problem has subsided in country, it’s just going under-reported, like it did for years before I took the helm—and everyone started complaining about it.
July 25, 2016 @ 9:32 pm
“And Guns N Roses isn’t exactly in the country realm” This just in Axl Rose to release country album. Haha
July 25, 2016 @ 3:19 pm
This poor gal is talented and all mixed up. Obviously she can do the quasi retro soul sound just fine and can country up with the best of em. But choose a genre please and go for it. I like many genres but keep country country.
July 25, 2016 @ 6:57 pm
Not country.
And if I was looking for this kinda music , I’d find as much as I wanted in my Bonnie Raitt collection . In terms of authenticity , natural talent, conviction and sheer soul , Bonnie set the bar a long time ago . You gotta bring a LOT more to the party than Ms. Harrison does if you want to be noticed …….. something so refreshingly different it cannot be ignored . Unfortunately this isn’t it .
July 25, 2016 @ 7:56 pm
Kree has an awesome voice. Not digging every song on the album, bust are really good. Hope she does well.
July 25, 2016 @ 7:57 pm
But most, not bust. Damn auto correct.
July 26, 2016 @ 9:59 am
She sounds like she has some potential to be a quality country artist.
Hope springs eternal.
Let’s see how she progresses.
Thanks for the review.
I don’t watch American Idol or the Voice or DWTS, so I’m not culturally hip and haven’t heard of her.
July 26, 2016 @ 3:30 pm
I probably have a minority viewpoint here, but I am not averse to having THIS kind of R&B/soul influence in Kree’s music, especially because the Memphis/Muscle Shoals style of it frequently has a country feel to it, coming from the same soil, even if there’s no steel guitar on every track (though “Something Else” is a classic-sounding example of old-school country). Whether this album “sells” or not is probably only important to the bean counters, and less so to her, which is really how it should be (IMHO).
And in other Kree-related news, she is part of a tribute to the iconic Linda Ronstadt (who so often mixed different styles in her own music) tonight at Nashville’s Basement East featuring, among others, Caitlin Rose and Emily West.