Tami Neilson’s “Lonely” Comes from Touching Personal Narrative (Review)
Tami Neilson is the Canadian-born, New Zealand-living songstress and singer who sent reverberating shock waves all throughout the Saving Country Music sphere of influence in 2014 with the release of her roots music masterpiece Dynamite! The album was only bested by Sturgill Simpson’s opus Metamodern Sounds in Country Music for SCM’s Album of the Year in 2014, and now she is set to release her follow up called Don’t Be Afraid September 25th (UPDATE: Will not be out in the United States until sometime in 2016). Ahead of the new record, Tami has released the first single and video called “Lonely.”
READ: Tami Neilson, Dynamite From Down Under! (Interview)
“Lonely” is no ordinary song. In February of 2015, Tami’s father, Ron Neilson, passed away. Tami grew up performing in a family band with her father and the rest of her family, touring throughout Canada and the United States, even opening for Johnny Cash and other notable country stars along the way. Ron Neilson began writing “Lonely” in 1972, and recorded a demo for it outside a hotel room while on tour in Canada. Yet he didn’t share or finish the song; it just remained a recorded demo forgotten in time until Tami and her brother Jay discovered the demo a week after his passing.
With the grief and loss still weighing heavy in their minds and hearts, Tami and Jay Neilson completed their father’s song, and Tami recorded it for her new album, releasing the song and the video on her father’s birthday.
“I guess my first idol was my dad. He’s a musical giant for me,” Tami said in a recent interview (see below). “When I first came back [to New Zealand], it was only a month after dad had passed away, and I’d written most or all of the songs for the album, and we were recording six weeks after he died. It was already all booked in. But of course the album ended up being a very different thing than originally thought.”
“Lonely” operates in the classic Countrypolitan style indicative of Patsy Cline, where the sweet spot of Tami Neilson’s style can be found. The song enacts a slow build, which rewards listeners for their patience by delivering the best moments at the end, especially when Tami’s voice is allowed to soar. Though “Lonely” isn’t the ideal display for Tami’s vocal capabilities because of its lower register, the emotion captured on the track from the back story and the personal nature of the song still allow the performance to rise into the memorable category.
Tami Neilson is like the Adele of country music, and the remoteness of her base of operations shouldn’t impinge on her music’s ability to touch and entertain country and classic pop audiences across North America and beyond.
Fellow New Zealand crooner Marlon Williams adds the tasteful vocal accompaniment.
Two Guns Up (9/10).
Tami Neilson also participated in a hilarious and informative interview with Anika Moa of the New Zealand Herald recently. If anything, it’s worth waiting until the end to hear Tami sing.
September 5, 2015 @ 9:02 am
I can bring out a bottle of scotch, relax and listen to this all day……just beautiful.
September 5, 2015 @ 9:19 am
Solid review Trigger . Tami’s voice sells honesty as few can . Lovely , if somewhat unpolished , arrangement ( bit of a parade bass drum going on ….some raw -sounding guitar work ) that doesn’t seek to compete with the sentiment . Kudos to Tami ..not just for honoring her dad but for having the courage to do it the right way musically and not trying to ‘make it fit ‘ a format .
September 5, 2015 @ 9:44 am
Marlon Williams’ album is well worth checking out, too. It’s more Americana than Country I guess (or would that be Newzealandicana? Or maybe A-Maori-cana?) but anyway, Williams has a great voice, the album is full of variation and the young man has a magnetic stage presence, too (caught him supporting the Australian band Husky when they were touring Europe – yet another band worth mentioning, though they are even less Country)
September 5, 2015 @ 10:06 am
What a cool sound, what a wonderfull song, what a classy dame. Thanks Trigger. If not for SCM I would not had Dynamite! on high rotation the last year.
September 5, 2015 @ 10:36 am
She reminds me so much of Patsy Cline.
September 5, 2015 @ 12:41 pm
Love it!
September 5, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
Beautiful, thank you.
September 5, 2015 @ 3:53 pm
Heres hoping she can have a long and successful career. People here in NewZealand are watching her closely.
September 5, 2015 @ 6:08 pm
As well they should 🙂 Does she do a lot of live shows/touring ?
September 5, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Shes done a few I think, havent had the pleasure of seeing her live. Does a lot of TV appearances, eg: “Good Morning” Like our version of Good Morning America.
September 5, 2015 @ 6:19 pm
Greetings SCM: I have only two new things to report from my adventures in space. First off, I have yet to encounter any reptile aliens, made out of light or anything else. Second: I found Elvis floating around up here with Liberace and Jimmy Hoffa. They’re pretty cool dudes. The aliens they were with didn’t want to give them up, but Gary LeVox ate those aliens… Apparently we found an old Ray Stevens copyright with a signed affidavit not to present an encounter with this strange bunch as fact, but rather as fiction…
September 5, 2015 @ 7:03 pm
But still you did 🙂
September 5, 2015 @ 6:22 pm
Made in Canada 🙂
September 5, 2015 @ 7:22 pm
Wow. Wonderful song.
September 6, 2015 @ 6:51 am
Trigger, this is not totally germane here, but do you have any idea why the MP3 version of Dynamite on Amazon only has six tracks? It is missing the final four.
September 6, 2015 @ 7:48 am
I’m not exactly sure what’s going on with the North American distribution of Tami’s material. For a while it appeared like “Dynamite!” disappeared completely, and now it’s back. I think she worked out a distribution deal, and possibly the Amazon thing is a mistake. I’m not really sure.
September 6, 2015 @ 8:06 am
I agree with you that someone’s hemisphere should not inhibit their ability to have an impact on country music, especially in this day and age. For that to happen though, we have to get the technology to work right. Hopefully they can get this straightened out. Having divested myself of hard copies (I will regret that when the EMP comes!), I have held off getting her album and was excited when I saw the MP3 version on Amazon.
September 6, 2015 @ 7:30 am
Hi there. Never commented before and I’m not even a very frequent reader, but can I cast a vote against the 1-10 scoring system? you already have a great generally-positive/generally negative scoring system with all its nuance and subjectivity built in, and bolting an ‘objective’ number onto the side of it can only make it worse.
This is a great song, by the way, and if I hadn’t just heard of Ray Wylie Hubbard for the first time it would be the best thing I’d heard in weeks.
September 6, 2015 @ 8:03 am
See, this is why I’ve resisted it for years and years.
September 6, 2015 @ 8:08 am
You aren’t going to please everyone. Some like it some won’t, but any score or rating, no matter who it is quantified, is going to have an element of subjectivity. If you want to find the sweet spot, leave your old rating system up and put a number score in white text. If people want to see, they can highlight it. Most people won’t know its there, but those that want something more precise can have it.
September 6, 2015 @ 8:23 am
Why anyone would complain about more is beyond me. Just do what you want Trigger, its your space we are just lucky you do what you.
September 6, 2015 @ 9:18 am
Trigger excellent review that lead up to hearing an excellent song. I liked the way you compared her Adele. I never hear a bad song come out of Tami Neilson’s mouth. And her voice is overwhelming. One of the best songs I have heard all year.
September 6, 2015 @ 3:55 pm
Once again, Trigger, you and these beautiful SCM fans have made my day. Thank you all for your kind words. I just wanted to address the technical issues on Amazon…”Dynamite!” has just been released in US/Canada by Outside Music (Canada). It just went live on 4 Sept, so, I will be in touch with them immediately re this issue. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention- it’s hard enough in this business without these little roadblocks. In the meantime, my album is still available to purchase digitally and physically on my band camp…all 10 tracks! 😉 Thanks guys and gals! Big love from a sunny spring day in New Zealand 🙂
September 6, 2015 @ 6:53 pm
Awwwwwww, thank YOU for continuing to make affecting, emotionally rich and honest music, Tami! You and your brother have produced the most beautiful dedication here and this community will keep cheering you on as you continue to blossom and achieve greater reach! =D
September 7, 2015 @ 2:11 am
I’ll have whatever she’s having, musically speaking. What was this lady listening to that resulted in this music? Couldn’t have been country because the bro keep name-checking all the country great (the males anyway) and look at the result.
And not just her but those session players she’s got with her holy smokes! Are they the descendants of Buddy Harmon, Pigs Hargus and the like?
January 16, 2018 @ 2:18 pm
Tami Neilson is NOT the Adele of anything. Tami uses proper technique and does not need autotune. Tami Neilson is Tami Neilson.