Amy McCarley: “MECO” (2019) CD Review

Amy McCarley’s 2019 release, MECO, is a dynamic and engaging album, featuring all original material, written or co-written by Amy McCarley. And she can certainly create some excellent and memorable lyrics. These are songs that seem honest and heartfelt, and though they are personal, these tracks are ones we can immediately relate to. Some albums seem like letters from close friends we haven’t seen in a while, letting us know what’s going on, and this is one of those. The album’s title, by the way, is an acronym meaning Main Engine Cut Off. It turns out that before she pursued a career in music, Amy McCarley worked for NASA. So what have we been doing with our lives, right? Joining her on this release are Kenny Vaughan on guitar; Chris Scruggs on drums, bass, steel guitar and backing vocals; and George Bradfute on slide guitar, fiddle, viola, cello and mandolin. There are also guests on certain tracks.

This album opens with “A Clue,” a wonderful, lively folk song. “Everybody’s always leaving, I got no place left to go/And this old house ain’t all that different than a jail cell/Nothing coming in except some take-out and junk mail.” Well, those lines certainly seem like they were written about this period of isolation during the pandemic, don’t they? Here, she sings about troubles, but yet somehow cheers us up in the process. “I’ve got everything a girl could want on my list of things to do.” This one was written by Amy McCarley and Pat Alger, as was the one that follows it, “Clarksdale Blues,” a completely engaging number delivered at a relaxed pace. “You’d think I’d learn from my mistakes/But they just keep on going to waste/Same old song on a different day/You’d think I’d change, but I keep on staying the same.” There is a degree of ache in her delivery, coupled with a sort of acceptance or resignation. Hers might be the perfect voice for how we are all feeling these days. George Bradfute plays slide guitar on this one. “Clarksdale Blues” is followed by “Everything Changed.” I love the way this one builds, that rhythm working to sweep us up into the song until we are surrounded by it, and feel we are part of its progress. “I woke up this morning, and everything had changed/Except the scenery was exactly the same.”

“High Wire” is another of the album’s highlights, featuring an excellent vocal performance and some good work on drums. The guitars at times feeling like an engine ready to take us somewhere better, and other times this song has a somewhat mellower country vibe. Then in “Days” there is a beautifully weary aspect to Amy McCarley’s vocal performance, with some steel guitar rising behind her. This is a song that looks back to brighter childhood days, and comments on the way time picks up its pace as we age. Everything is fleeting. We all wish we could hold onto certain moments. The song’s last lines are “I wish I could keep them here and let time move on past/And just by staying in I could make these moments last/The days are getting shorter/It won’t be long now.” Pat Alger plays acoustic guitar on this one. That theme is also addressed in the next song, “Never Can Tell,” its first lines being “Life’s been going by a little bit too fast/Sit down on the front porch, trying to make it last.” This is, however, a cheerful, lively country tune with a full band sound. Marty Stuiart plays mandolin on this track, adding to the positive vibe, and George Bradfute is on fiddle. “And you never can say just how it’s going to end/All I know is I want to go where I can be with my friends.” Those lines certainly speak to us in these strange days. Then “How You Do” begins as a gorgeous, sad number. “And I don’t know how you do me like you do/I don’t know how you sleep/How you make it through.” The song then develops a fuller sound, but maintains that vibe. I love that harmonica part (that’s Amy McCarley on harmonica). George Bradfute plays both viola and cello on this one.

In “Happy,” she reaches out to a friend. It’s the way I have been hearing the entire album, but here she addresses a friend directly. “Did you ever find happy/For a while I thought you’d found it with us.” George Bradfute plays both fiddle and mandolin on this track. I particularly like that fiddle part, which seems perfectly suited to raise our spirits. That’s followed by “Ain’t Life Funny,” a track that is a delight. Kenny Lovelace joins her on fiddle on this one, delivering some wonderful work. “What if everything we hoped for happened/And every dream we had came true/Would I suddenly be happy/Or would I just start wanting something new/Ain’t life funny.” It sure is. Funny and exciting and infuriating and depressing and terrifying and beautiful. I love these lines: “We’ll be waiting on the other side/Thanking God for this crazy ride/We’ll be giving him a talking to.” Indeed. Don’t we all want to confront God about some of the shit we’ve been dealing with? “Ain’t it funny how it all goes up in smoke?” The album then concludes with “Farewell Paradise,” a totally enjoyable country tune featuring some good steel guitar work. Harry Stinson provides backing vocals on this track. “I am a long way from home/I don’t even know how I got on this road.” Ah yes, don’t we all wonder how we got on the road we’re on?

CD Track List

1. A Clue
2. Clarksdale Blues
3. Everything Changed
4. High Wire
5. Days
6. Never Can Tell
7. How You Do
8. Happy
9. Ain’t Life Funny
10. Farewell Paradise

MECO was released on February 8, 2019.