Karney: "One True Song" (2025) CD Review

Anna Karney is a singer and songwriter based in San Francisco, creating music that is generally in the rock realm, sometimes drawing on folk influences as well. She released her first album in 1999, and has followed it with several other albums, EPs and singles. Her new album, One True Song, features original material, more in the folk realm than some earlier releases. Anna Karney plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and keyboards on this album. She is joined by James Deprato on electric guitar and acoustic guitar, Kevin T. White on bass, Uriah Duffy on bass, Kyle Caprista on drums and percussion, and Phil Bennet on organ and keyboards, along with a few guests on certain tracks.

One True Song opens with its title track, which has kind of a sweet, pretty sound, while Anna's voice has a glorious rock edge. "From the cold, hard city streets/To the houses where all good people meet/I won't do wrong/With my one true song/Come on, come on now, sing along." And when she sings the line about love, the song has the feel of an anthem. It is easy to picture an audience singing along. Love is what it's all about, this whole experiment we're a part of. "We will all come out together for love, love, love." And it is love that also will be the engine. It has to be. Politics have completely failed us. This track also features some really nice guitar work. "I gave my guitar away/To someone on the street," Anna tells us at the beginning of the next track, "Gave My Guitar Away." "Try to brighten  up somebody's day." There is a wonderful rock energy to her vocal performance, with hints of blues. It's a song of connecting with others through an act of kindness, but also through music. And of course that's what this song does too. It can connect us, unite us. This track features some good stuff on electric guitar. Erik Smyth joins the band on guitar on this one. Toward the end, Anna addresses us directly, passing the music to us, the ability to make music. No passive audience, us. Imagine if everyone had a musical instrument. Wouldn't it be great if people focused on music rather than politics or religion or whatever. "Just think of all the good things to be done."

"Suspended" eases in beautifully, creating an appealing atmosphere. "Soft breezes/Upon my face/Whisper through the trees/And through the spaces/Through the spaces." The song itself seems to move through the trees, to come like a wind to our ears. This is a beautiful song, one of my personal favorites. I love it more each time I hear it. There is a bit of Chrissie Hynde vibe to Anna Karney's voice at times. "Suspended/For a moment in time/For a moment in time/Where there is peace and quiet/Where there is peace/And quiet." That's followed by "Freedom Summer." "This is a story of heroes/Andrew, Michael and James," Anna sings at the beginning. It's a song of the fight for civil rights and the folks who were killed in Mississippi in 1964 - Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney. "That was the end of the road/The end of the road." I wish those crimes were firmly in our past, but look where our country is now, fully embracing racism and fascism, with half the population under the thrall of a bigot, a convicted felon, a rapist, a creep who was sued for not allowing black tenants in his buildings. Anthony Blea joins the group on violin, delivering some especially moving work, adding a lot to this powerful track. "Remember their names/Andrew, Michael and James."

"Out Of Body 2025" opens with some wonderful guitar work, then kicks in with an unexpected force. "Put the makeup on my face/And I disappear without a trace." This track features some great percussion and a harder edge. Faisal Zedan plays derbekki drum, Arabic riqq and frame drum on this track. It's an exciting and wild ride, another of the disc's highlights, with vocals that seem to surround us. It's an outstanding and astounding vocal performance. "I am someone I don't know." There is excellent stuff on guitar too. Faisal Zedan also contributes some superb work on percussion to "Eos," a song about the Greek goddess of the dawn. I love the way Anna delivers the title line, like she is able to summon the heavens, invoke the spirits, and move with them through the trees to us. "She wakes us to the dawn of possibility."

Interestingly, the album concludes with acoustic versions of three tracks, starting with "Gave My Guitar Away." There is a bit of a Kelly Zirbes sound to her delivery, particularly in those first few lines. Though this is the acoustic version, that great lead on electric guitar is still present. "Let your inner child come shining through." Then we get "Freedom Summer." That incredible work on violin stands out even more here. I love that percussion too, which has its own power. By the way, this song mentions how several people involved in the crime were able to walk away, not facing any consequences. That is true today too, for the most part, especially when a convicted felon not only avoids prison, but becomes the president. Sick. There is no justice in this country. The album ends where it began, with "One True Song." It's a beautiful way to wrap things up, concluding on a positive, hopeful, even empowering note.

CD Track List

1. One True Song
2. Gave My Guitar Away
3. Suspended
4. Freedom Summer
5. Out Of Body 2025
6. Eos
7. Gave My Guitar Away (Acoustic Version)
8. Freedom Summer (Acoustic Version)
9. One True Song (Acoustic Version)

One True Song was released on July 18, 2025.