The CD opens with “Paintsville
Table,” which has a cool, mean vibe right from the start, as Chelle sings about
a man who gives up his dreams to take a mining job to support his family. That’s followed by “Reckon With The Devil,” which begins with just
percussion and vocals, giving it a delicious raw and immediate feel. “You can pray/You can fight/You can get down
on your knees every night.” The guitars too have a raw power, particularly
in the instrumental section toward the end.
“Dammit Darlin” has a dark folk
vibe. The drums then come in after a minute or so, a steady pounding like a
terrifying pulse. And when that breaks, the song arrives at a plateau that almost
has a sweetness to it, which comes as something of a surprise. It’s a really
interesting and wonderful tune, but the following track, “Not Your Girl,” is
even better. It opens with these lines: “I
don’t want you/I don’t need you/I don’t care if you stay/Every time you push my
buttons/I always give you your way.” As much as Chelle gives us with her
voice, in this song she seems to deliver an equal amount of meaning with
well-placed pauses. In those opening lines, she pauses briefly before “care if you stay” and after “I always.” In both cases it gives us
just the briefest of moments to guess where she’s going. She also pauses after “I am not your girl” each time she sings
it, like giving the other person a chance to respond, almost like daring the person
to disagree. And of course the person never does. I especially love the pause
after “You give me nothing that I need/I
am not your girl” – a pause in which you feel anything could happen. What
will follow? A scream? A cry? What follows is a great instrumental section. This
is one of my favorites. Though the next song is the album’s title track, this
song’s lyrics also include the title phrase, in the line “A blue ridge blood running through your veins.”
The title track, “Blue Ridge
Blood,” is an oddly delightful folk tune, and is another of my favorites. “Somebody told me when I was a little
girl/Blue ridge blood/Better change the way I talk, never make it in this
world/Blue ridge blood.” The CD is dedicated to her grandmother, who helped
raise her, and this song mentions her directly in its lyrics. Buddy Miller
joins Chelle Rose on vocals on this one. “Mean Grandpappy,” also about a family
member, has a very different feel. Check out these lines: “Grandpappy Rose was a mean son of a bitch/Beat you with his words, didn’t
need no switch/Sitting on the front porch, yelling at my granny/Better spit and
shine every damn nook and cranny.” The lines that always stand out are “I went home to Knoxville when they laid him
down/Right where he belonged in the cold, hard ground.”
Another of this CD’s highlights
for me is “Hidin’ Hole.” Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Just let me lie here/I’ll let you know when my blood thaws/It might
take a hundred years/So call off your dogs/I’m down, down in a hidin’ hole/I
ain’t saying forever goodbye/Just tired of smiling when all I want to do is cry.”
The album ends with an odd little tune, “Sing Pretty,” in which Chelle seems to
poke a bit of fun of herself and her own style in lines like “Mama always wanted me to sing pretty/It
hurts her to hear the pain that I pour out/So this one’s for my mama/I’m going
to try do it sweet/A little less vinegar/More honey to catch the bee.” And
the song does have kind of a sweet feel.
CD Track List
- Paintsville Table
- Reckon With The Devil
- Dammit Darlin
- Not Your Girl
- Blue Ridge Blood
- Laid Me Down
- Mean Grandpappy
- Gypsy Rubye
- Hidin' Hole
- Southern 4501
- Sing Pretty
Blue Ridge Blood is scheduled to be released on August 5, 2016 on
Lil’ Damsel Records.
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