Lucette Enlists Sturgill Simpson & Dave Cobb for “Bobby Reid”
After his award-winning work with artists like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Jamey Johnson, and so many more, when you see the name Dave Cobb associated with an artist, it’s probably worth paying a little bit closer attention. And such is the case when it comes to burgeoning country artist Lucette from Edmonton, Canada, who just released her first single and video, and is about to release her debut album, Black Is The Color.
Lucette met producer Dave Cobb through a strange series of events. At a concert in Edmonton, she sang backup for an former American Idol contestant named Michael Johns, who incidentally died on August 1st after a blood clot formed in his ankle. “We became good friends from our mutual love of Otis Redding,” says Lucette of Michael Johns, and Dave Cobb had worked as a producer for Michael Johns previously. But Lucette didn’t start working with Dave Cobb in the beginning. Instead she was working with big industry movers and shakers in Canada in the camp of legendary producer and songwriter David Foster. Lucette was being groomed for the big time, but the results were something she was not happy with. “It was a big, Celine Dion-sounding record. The music coming out of these other people, it was terrible. I can’t explain how inaccurate it sounded to my style and my interests.”
She was only 18-years-old at the time and was being presented with the biggest music opportunity of her life, but she was miserable with the results. So she confided in Michael Johns for guidance, who told her, “‘You have to talk to my friend Dave Cobb,’ and of course when I looked Dave up, he’d already produced half of my favorite records.”
Lucette then flew to Nashville and started working on a new record with Dave. She came to Nashville in 2011 with 20 songs ready to record, and ended up scrapping every one of them. “We wrote the album in three weeks, and recorded it,” she says. “Dave and I wrote half the songs together.” Lucette made subsequent trips to Nashville to complete the record, and it was finally finished last year.
The centerpiece of the project was a song called “Bobby Reid.” “Out of the songs I wrote, and the ones that we co-wrote, the ones we co-wrote definitely stood out. They had a certain vibe to them, and that’s where the Bobby Reid character was born. We wrote it in one night, and recorded it in one take the next day. And one song kind of changed the whole mood of the album. I was writing mostly 50’s and 60’s country, almost like Skeeter Davis, but this Bobby Reid character kind of changed the way that I write, and the way I think about music. I was 19 when I wrote that song.”
Dave Cobb was excited about the song as well, and saw it as the single off the album, and the one to target for a video. So Dave called up filmmaker Blake Judd, who dreamed up the concept of an old-school river baptism, and recruited his circle of musician contacts to help fulfill the cast, including Sturgill Simpson, and Col. JD Wilkes of Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and the The Dirt Daubers. “At this point, Sturgill Simpson hasn’t even put out ‘High Top Mountain,'” Blake Judd explains. “Sturgill said, ‘Yeah, I like the song, I like Dave, and I like you.’ And then I called J.D. Wilkes and asked him if he wanted to reprise his role as a creepy preacher. So everyone converged in Greensburg, Kentucky in August of 2012, and we made the video.”
But the song “Bobby Reid,” the video starring Sturgill Simpson, and Lucette’s Dave Cobb-produced album almost never saw the light of day. Lucette’s management at the time was not fond of the old-school, dark Americana road she was going down. They believed Lucette’s future was in a more mainstream direction. “I met with four or five major labels. A few of them I went back to several times,” Lucette explains. “But there were several meetings with a couple of labels that led me to a lot of inner turmoil because they basically said, ‘This song has to be shorter. This song has to be longer. You have to cut this one.’ And then it came to the point where someone said, ‘You’re not going to be able to do this as a career.'”
But once again Lucette listened to herself instead of the industry, and saw that the work she did with Dave Cobb was the right direction. “I’m glad I went with my gut. I’m glad that I’ve had people in my life that kind of got my vibe and understood me enough to know that my record might not be a huge thing to a major label. But to the people that get it, I think they will really get it.”
Dave Cobb is one of those people that gets the young Canadian songwriter. “Lucette really brings out the dark side of American turn of the century folk when it seemed the world was gonna end, and breathes new light into it,” says Dave Cobb. “We had a blast making the record. I’ll never forget sitting in a booth right next ta her playin guitar and hearing bobby Reid coming through the headphones. It felt timeless.”
Lucette’s album Black Is The Color is set to be released on August 26th, and the video for “Bobby Reid” just debuted on CMT Pure.
August 21, 2014 @ 11:44 am
Will have to hear more of this when it’s released before deciding to purchase or not, but she has a nice voice and Sturgill looked menacing, so there’s that.
In the meantime, thank you.
August 21, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
I didn’t stop listening after a minute, so that is a good sign but am not sure if it was because I wanted to find out what happened or if I just liked her song. She has a compelling voice. I wish I could just listen to a song without a video the first time because if I am going to buy music, it has to be because I like the sound of it, over and over and not because of the movie. I’ll have to hear more also and reserve judgement.
August 21, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
Although only a small sample size, it looks like Sturgill got some good acting chops. I recently read an interview with him where he said he wants to make a video for every song on Metamodern Sounds and that he’d love to experiment with short film/video making in the future.
As for the song, I like her voice and the haunting atmosphere created by her, the band and Cobb. I’m interested in hearing the full record.
I’m also really looking forward to Anderson East’s Dave Cobb produced album. His last album was good and from what I’ve heard, the new one will be even better. He plays frequently in Holly Williams’ band with Annie Clements. Great group of folks I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several times.
August 21, 2014 @ 9:58 pm
He’s got chops
http://youtu.be/QS9-FqcDBxA
August 21, 2014 @ 10:27 pm
Skip to 0:44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6emSlOYl8
😉
August 21, 2014 @ 1:18 pm
Nice ong. Impressed with Sturgill’s screen presence. JD Wilkes is intense.
August 21, 2014 @ 2:12 pm
Gonna have to spin this a little more. Like her voice though and would like to hear more material from her, just not sure I love this song.
August 21, 2014 @ 3:58 pm
I don’t understand how you can hear this song and say “You”™re not going to be able to do this as a career.”
August 21, 2014 @ 4:03 pm
Wow, saw her 3 or 4 months ago, opening for Joe Ely! She’s a delight to see and hear, but, oh my, the songs her incredibly dreary. Here’s hoping she lightens up a bit.
August 21, 2014 @ 6:55 pm
Sounds good. I’m looking forward to the full album. I hope it’s as good as this one song.
August 21, 2014 @ 8:37 pm
Call me stupid… but I have no clue what this song means.
August 22, 2014 @ 6:09 am
Me neither.
August 22, 2014 @ 10:58 am
She has a really pretty voice, but, WHAT IN THE HECK IS THIS SONG ABOUT?
August 23, 2014 @ 11:55 pm
Seriously, does anybody know? Trigger?
August 24, 2014 @ 12:35 am
It’s about Bobby Reid. It’s character generation. It’s a murder ballad in the most classic sense. I’m sure when the entire album is released, this song will make more sense in context.
August 24, 2014 @ 1:46 am
Yeah Trig, I got the Bobby Reid part. But what about Bobby Reid? Bobby Reid won’t you please cut me down? What does it mean? Is she begging him to kill her? To insult her? There’s no detail in the lyrics to really explain what’s happening. And the video doesn’t match the song. I assume Sturgill is Bobby Reid, but she kills him, so I’m really confused.
August 25, 2014 @ 10:30 am
Took the words right outta my mouth. Actually, the more I hear it, the angrier I get cuz it’s actually really stupid. What the hell does it mean? They don’t even know.
August 23, 2014 @ 7:18 am
VERY Civil Wars-ish in vibe and in the look of the video . Like Joy Williams , Lucette’s vocals are unique enough to my ear to make me want to listen to more . Unaffected , pure and very much ON KEY …a rare commodity with so many acts – although I realize this is a studio version .
I could become a fan in a hurry based on the overall vibe created by the uncluttered simplicity .
August 23, 2014 @ 7:50 am
Albert, I don’t quitea gree on the Civils Wars comparison. Or at least it didn’t hit me that way. One word I would use to describe them would be “affected.” No doubt, they are great singers, though. I’m looking forward to what John Paul White has to offer in the future.
The song and video reminded me of some of Nick Cave’s songs from “Murder Ballads.” (e.g., Henry Lee, Where the Wild Roses Grow). Or maybe some of Lindi Ortega’s dark ballads.
August 23, 2014 @ 4:25 pm
wow, I really dig it. Reminds me of some of those old Louvin Brothers songs, or a lot of the tunes on “songs our daddy taught us”.
I definitely look forward to hearing more of it.
Album Review – Lucette’s Black Is The Color | Country Perspective
September 2, 2014 @ 8:01 am
[…] because mainstream Nashville would’ve ruined her talents. In fact that almost happened. Trigger at Saving Country Music has a fantastic piece on the background of Lucette’s journey to making this album that you must go read. He is the reason I came across Lucette and many other […]
Sound & Vision – Lucette | Beat Surrender
September 9, 2014 @ 5:01 am
[…] – “Bobby Reid” feat. Sturgill Simpson & JD Wilkes via Saving Country Music Vinyl / Website / Facebook / […]
November 29, 2014 @ 10:41 am
Saw Lucette yesterday in SLC opening for Sturgill. She was amazing. The last song on her album, Utah, was a crowd favorite. She also did a nice Waylon cover, just her and her piano.