For most people, rule No.1 is the most important. But Whitney Rose marches to her own tune on her new album, Rule 62. Although relatively new to the Americana scene (this is her third full length album,) she sings with a honky-tonk voice much older than her years. And as the composer of 8 of the 10 tracks on the album, she displays her maturity as a songwriter as well. With a voice that’s half Patsy Cline and half Lindi Ortega, Rose creates modern, authentic Country music that’s firmly rooted in the past.
“I Don’t Want Half (I Just Want Out)” with its slide guitar, fiddle and upright piano, is a perfect “sawdust on the barroom floor” honky-tonk break up song.
“Arizona” and “Time To Cry” are also break up songs, but belted with much more fire in the belly. Rose picks up the tempo and the temper as she warns in the latter song, “Now it’s your turn to cry.”
Rose’s musical love life doesn’t fare any better in the Country Blues number, “You Never Cross My Mind,” and the atmospheric, “You Don’t Scare Me.”
But even in the midst of her dysfunctional relationships, there are hints of optimism and altruism, as in her 60’s girl group inspired tracks, “Better to My Baby” and “You’re A Mess.” In the former, she is able to see past the pain of a breakup and asks her ex-lover’s new girlfriend to “be better to my baby than me.”
Perhaps Rose gives a hint to the cause of her failed relationships in her several songs about life on the road. In “Wake Me In Wyoming” she pleads for the chance to sleep rather than think about the lover she’s leaving at home. In “Tied To The Wheel,” she wonders about the truck that takes her from home, asking, “Am I driving it, or is it driving me?” And in “Trucker’s Funeral” she sings about going to her truck-driving father’s funeral only to discover that he had a secret, second family on the West Coast.
With her emotionally expressive voice, and tear jerker songs, Whitney proudly continues the legacy of Honky-Tonk Angels from Kitty Wells to Patsy Cline to Tammy Wynette and onward.
So, what’s the point of all these break up songs? Well, that’s the secret of Rule 62. Taken from the 12-step program of AA, rule 62 states, “Don’t take yourself too damn seriously.” Although that rule comes in handy for dealing with broken hearts, I’m willing to bet it’s only a matter of time before the Americana community begins to take Whitney Rose very seriously.
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Brian Rock
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