Album Review – Sarah Gayle Meech’s “Tennessee Love Song”
Photo: Kate Cauthen Photography
The corridor of old brick buildings and bustling honky tonks in downtown Nashville known as Lower Broadway has found itself a new queen. The street that sits in the shadows of the Country Music Mother Church where the heels of all the old greats once used to strut by, or saunter down, or waltz across in a tipsy stupor, and was once virtually abandoned when the Ryman Auditorium was shuttered and the Grand Ole Opry moved miles away, is now a vibrant portion of the country music holy land once again, harboring a spirit that is as closely tied to the roots of country as one can find, both in location and in the longing to see the old ghosts of country music’s past flourish again.
Haunting stages at The Bluegrass Inn or Robert’s Western World on any given night is the ravenesque Sarah Gayle Meech. This isn’t the overnight sensation approach to making it in the music business. This isn’t about moving to town and pitching your songs to superstars in buildings out on Music Row. This isn’t hopping on fancy tours and hoping to get noticed by label executives. Sarah Gayle Meech’s approach is one that’s cousin to the blue collars she sings for every night. This is about playing four hour sets. This is about being able to recite just about any country standard from a 50 year span at the flip of a dime. This is about growing callouses so thick on your fingers from playing guitar that you could run them the wrong way on a cheese grater and not flinch. This is about finding your place in the world and leaving a mark, and knowing that years of paying dues will pay off in the future, even if the present fails to pay worthy notice.
Sarah Gayle Meech released her debut album One Good Thing in 2012, and it was a testament to her growing place as one of the leading women in traditional country. But it was a prototype; a starting point in what you knew was going to become a long career contributing a legacy of original songs to country music’s library.
Her new record Tennessee Love Song is about establishing Sarah Gayle Meech as a neotraditionalist standard bearer for the new generation of artists. After Lower Broadway went from slum to tourist trap in the 90’s and the whole neotraditionalist thing with BR549, Wayne Hancock, and Hank3 scored its high water mark and the question was, “Who is next? Where do we go from here?” …the answer for the here and now is Sarah Gayle Meech.
Reading back on my review of Sarah’s first album One Good Thing, I observed, “What I want to see from here is how she develops and figures out a way to separate herself sonically from the overwhelming crowd of traditional bands and artists playing honky tonk music these days…all the greats in the genre brought something unique to the table. They added something, or took something away, or reached deep down inside themselves to find a way to separate themselves from the herd.”
Tennessee Love Song does that very thing. Where One Good Thing was solid, but almost a little too consistent, this new effort features variety to spare. Tennessee Love Song works like a road map, like a travelogue through a traditional country dream, drifting through the different eras and influences of the genre, reliving the golden years of country before everything got corrupted.
Going along with Sarah Gayle is Andy Gibson—the long-time steel guitar player for Hank Williams III who’s been making albums on the side for quite some time now. Similar to Sarah, Andy was always the working man’s renegade studio owner, engineer, and producer. But through Tennessee Love Song, he shows his depth of being able to work in not just textures and tones, but eras and influences in a way that is eerily evocative and intoxicating in how it opens portals to the past.
It’s still fair to call Sarah’s style more interpretive than original, and even though Tennessee Love Song is amply spicy and engaging, it didn’t really give Sarah Gayle any specific moments to really step out vocally like we know she can.
Still, Tennessee Love Song is one of those career-defining records that sees Sarah Gayle Meech step up, step out, and establish herself as a standard bearer for old Nashville.
1 3/4 of 2 Guns Up.
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April 3, 2015 @ 9:26 am
I admire her attempts at doing something different but here’s a case when I’d have to side with radio if they chose not to play it . The lyric is weak , not easily audible in her vocal register and swimming in too much reverb/delay. Radio HATES reverb cuz when they use their big time space age radio compression on songs with it , it makes the reverb sound …well ..galactic . But saying that , even a re-mix would not , in my opinion , make this particular song attractive to radio . It lacks a strong chorus , it lacks dynamics in the production and ( sorry Sarah ) it lacks a unique , strong vocal performance which would make me wanna come back time and time again . If radio play ISN’T the mission , then yeah …I’m sure she’ll find an audience in all of those 4 hour a night bars . Lord knows there’s plenty of those still around .
April 3, 2015 @ 9:37 am
Don’t think Sarah Gayle Meech even considered radio one bit when recording the particular song I chose to be representative of the album because she made a dedicated video for it.
Also, this goes without saying about any album review, but especially this one, that an album holds much more diversity than an individual song evidences.
April 3, 2015 @ 4:14 pm
Yes …of course an album would hopefully hold much more diversity , Trigger . My bad for focusing on just the song in the video . And perhaps radio airplay isn’t necessarily what she’s after , although I can’t imagine why not .
In any case , I’d stand by my comments with regards to this particular song , radio aspirations aside . Maybe you need to be a fan to appreciate it . Dunno . But being as objective as I can be , for me it doesn’t quite cut it on any level.
December 30, 2015 @ 3:30 pm
shows what you dont know about real music … this girl will so big they wont be able to take it away from her .. aint her first time around the whole deal!!
April 3, 2015 @ 10:13 am
Liking Stay Gold
April 3, 2015 @ 10:36 am
Just sampled the album, sounds like some great songs. I will add this to my list. Already used up by SCM quota this payday.
April 3, 2015 @ 10:36 am
Trigger,
I think I know what you mean by, interpretive vs original, but please explain it just so I’m sure, and tell me what you think she needs to do to be completely original.
April 3, 2015 @ 10:42 am
What I mean by that is instead of trying to do something nobody has ever done before, Sarah Gayle Meech and a lot of other traditional and neotraditional artists try to do something that is indicative of something past artists have done before.
This is not a knock on the music whatsoever, nor does it mean an artist can’t interpret something, but still do it in a way that adds an original take. But I do think it is a difference in approach that is worth noting. Original music tends to take more chances, and runs the possibility of being interpreted by future artists, and because of this should be approached with a different scale.
April 3, 2015 @ 1:27 pm
So, how, in your opinion, does a traditional Country singer go about it, while staying original?
I ask, because real Country music is an established, specific sound. Yes, there are variations within that sound, but if you vary too much, then it’s not Country anymore.
Also, what is the difference between traditional and neotraditional?
To me, these prefixes, along with your opinion, make it seem like Country music is some outdated art form, than can only be copied.
Like, if you sing real Country music, it’s only as a preservationist, of sorts.
April 3, 2015 @ 4:46 pm
To me, traditional country is like what you describe above. There’s certain rules and you follow those with only a few variations. Guys like Dale Watson, Alan Jackson, Roo Arcus who I was talking about a few days ago, these guys are traditional country. Neotraditional country sort of purposely tries to sound like country music from the 50’s or 60’s or even before. It is a more nostalgic, throwback approach.
I think you can still be original and play traditional country. The originality can come across in the lyrics, or in style shifts. I think it shows tremendous creativity and originality to be able to work within a rigid set of rules and still be original, as opposed to working with no rules at all and then wanting everyone to give you credit for your creativity.
April 3, 2015 @ 10:42 am
Sarah Gayle Meech has the professionalism and image that is required for success. I love the quality of this album and it is a album i love to listen to on a stormy night all alone with a beer. Love this video too. Really reflects how it is seeing her at Layla’s or Robert’s in Nashville. She is a blast of a personality.
Its funny how her husband helps reflect her south cal experiences in the video. A blend of south cal and Tennessee.
My only minor complaint is they need a few more upbeat songs like Old White Boots which to me is her strongest song. Female artists can fall in the same temple trap and Sarah’s live performances are always diverse in sound and showmanship. Its has that classic country/rockabilly blend i love in her performance. I wish the album reflect more on that but it is a classic patsy cline feel that i cherish too.
April 3, 2015 @ 2:10 pm
I used to catch Sarah’s live shows on occasion back when she still lived here in LA and always enjoyed her heartfelt authenticity. The fact she is making a name for herself on Lower Broadway these days in Nashville is a testament to her grit and tenacity and I hope it does pay off in the long run. Go Sarah!
April 3, 2015 @ 3:16 pm
Sarah Gayle Meech is a great writer and performer. I have been watching her in the Honky Tonks on Broadway here in Nashville for the last few years. My favorite song from her One Good Thing album is “Old White Boots.” On the Tennessee Love Song Album so far I really love “At the Bar Again”, “Love of Mine” and “Stay Gold.” I want to have a drink in my hand whenever I hear “At the Bar Again”! Her shows are always entertaining as she encourages the crowd to dance and sing along! I am very proud of her new Album and recent tour to Sweden!
April 3, 2015 @ 11:48 pm
I admit that “Watermelon and Root Beer” initially damaged my hopes about the album, but after listening to the previews the overall work seems quite solid.
This brings up a pet peeve of mine: even great artists like Sarah Gayle Meech and Brandy Clark seem to release their absolutely worst-sounding songs as their lead singles. I actually ignored Brandy Clark’s album for a long time after listening to “Stripes”, About a month later, when I discovered gems like “What Will Keep Me Out of Heaven” and “Just Like Him”, I was quite shocked.
I think that it might be better if SCM does not post the lead single in the album reviews.
April 9, 2015 @ 6:20 pm
I agree. That song just didn’t do it for me but the samples of the other songs sound great!
April 3, 2015 @ 11:52 pm
I would add that “Love of Mine” would have made the best radio single. It is upbeat, yet thoroughly country and highly melodic.