Reviews

Sara Petite’s The Empress

Posted by on June 16, 2023 at 9:31 am


By Brian Rock

Sara Petite asserts her power and the power of feminine energy in general on her seventh album, The Empress. Full of raucous honky-tonk and harder edged cow-punk, Petite uses the most masculine of power chords to celebrate the feminine mystique.

“God Save The Queen” is a rockin’, cow-punk salute to mother earth. With electric guitar and organ exploding against a thunderous drum beat, Petite sings, “I am the queen. I am the witch. I am the ruler and the bitch. I am Mother Earth. I am the womb that gave you birth.” Like the volcanic birth of a new island in the Pacific, she erupts with fire and fury as she sings a warning to “Take care of me. I am your home.”

Beautiful, haunting fiddle introduces us to “The Empress.” Riding her “horse along the beach through gusty winds and quantum leaps,” the Empress is the personification of the feminine spirit. Guitar, drums, and organ pick up the galloping pace of her march through history as Petite recounts the Magdelenes, the Joans of Arc, the persecuted “witches” and the oppressed women who have stood and spoken and fought for equality. In the end, the “Empress” reveals that “I did it all for love!” “Forbidden Fruit” is a barrel house piano-driven honky tonker that celebrates the less altruistic, yet possibly more alluring side of the feminine – The Temptress. “She’s Come Undone” is a rockabilly celebration of women “breaking ceilings” and breaking out on their own.

Yet for her all her assertions of independence, she acknowledges the human need for companionship. “I Want You So Bad” and “That Was You And Me,” are high octane honky-tonk rockers that capture the passion, and warn of the danger, of relationships fueled more by lust than love. Lilting Cajun fiddle adds spice to “Le Petit Saboteur” as Petite explores the things we do that undermine our own relationships. The tender ballad, “Tread Softly” focuses on relationships built on love and trust, and the passion that burns longer, if not hotter, than lust. 

But, whether woman or man. lover or luster, we all end up the same. “Lead The Parade” is a two-movement song that ponders our inevitable fate. The first part is a slow burning dirge that anticipates the day we take our final ride in front of a procession of mourners. But the second part of the song breaks out in a jubilant bluegrass/dixieland fusion that celebrates the eternal life that follows this temporary one. Here, on “the other side,” masculine and feminine, good and bad, mine and yours are all reconciled as the illusion of separation is lifted as we realize we are all one.

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Brian Rock

Brian Rock

Brian was raised gypsy style, moving every other year until well after college. As friendships proved to be temporary, Brian found a constant companion in music, wearing the grooves off Beatles and Dylan albums before moving on to Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yokam. Living so often in flux, he has come to value music and lyrics of lasting quality. Not moved by trends or fashion, he is drawn to timeless lyrics and soulful rhythms. Although now settled down, Brian still expresses his gypsy spirit through his writing. He has co-written songs with musician friends he’s met along the way, including several contributions to the 2012 ICMA Album of the Year, Family Album. Brian also writes children’s books and poems, including the Children’s Book Council featured title, The Deductive Detective.
Brian Rock

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