Kathy Mattea Albums (16)
What The Critics Say
Although she's moved steadily towards a more roots-oriented style over the years, Kathy Mattea will probably always be remembered for her pop-styled country hits from the 1980s and '90s on Mercury and MCA Records. A lot has changed, though, and she's no longer a major-label darling, and her latest album, Coal, on the independent Captain Potato imprint, is exactly the kind of release she wouldn't have been allowed to do earlier in her career when everything hinged on delivering a radio hit or two or three. Coal is a heartfelt examination of the hard, often dangerous life of coal miners, and includes classic mining songs by the likes of Merle Travis, Hazel Dickens, and Jean Ritchie all arranged in a delicate, muted acoustic style by Mattea and her producer this time out, Marty Stuart. Mattea grew up in West Virginia, and while her father escaped the mines, both her grandfathers were miners, so when the 2006 Sago Mine disaster hit, which left 12 good men dead, she made up her mind to record this sparse, striking album. It won't land her on the new country stations, but it's a beautiful testament to a difficult way of life, and working on an independent label, she's been given the freedom to make an album that has more to do with the heart than the ring of distant cash registers. Highlights include versions of two of Jean Ritchie's finest compositions, the precise and brilliant "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" and the only slightly less striking "Blue Diamond Mines," a muted and effective take on Billy Edd Wheeler's haunting "Red-Winged Blackbird," and a sturdy rendition of Merle Travis' classic "Dark as a Dungeon," but everything here is of a piece, and Mattea's unadorned vocals and Stuart's supporting arrangements never overstate things, allowing these songs to tell their forceful stories of lives spent reaching for personal dignity and redemption in the face of almost impossible odds. It's bleak, sad, and tragic, yes, but Coal, in the end, is surprisingly reaffirming because of it. Coal won't fill the dancefloors but it will fill the heart with hope and remind that even in the darkest times and places, there's a song worth singing, and those songs, the ones that emerge from the bleakest situations, may well be ones we need the most. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Veteran country singer Kathy Mattea returns with her third album on Narada, and it's easily her most consistent since she joined the label. Self-produced, Mattea once more layers in all her favorite touches like Bill Cooley's bouzouki and Randy Leago playing both accordion and sitar on the title cut, which opens the set. This track underscores a running theme in Mattea's work: transformation and change. This is a song, like so many others in her vast catalog, where the protagonist is torn about leaving one place in pursuit of an unknown future, but there is acceptance and resignation in her voice when she sings "Right out of nowhere/You open your heart/And let go of everything/You're going somewhere/And all you need to know/Is you're free to go." Two surprises here are in covers of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and John Fogerty's "Down on the Corner." That they appear on the same album is rather startling, giving the listener a gauge that this is no ordinary country record. The former tune is a largely acoustic read, with an organ and a Wurlitzer being the only electric instruments. Its layered guitars, mandolin, and bass flute offer all the urgency of the original, but in her delivery, Mattea makes the tune a gospel song, one that pleads for deliverance and is anchored in awareness. The latter is steeped in blues with harmonica and a steel-string ushering in her voice as it struts, as if from a back-porch singalong. The chorus of backing vocals underscores this and gives the tune its gritty country-funk feel. But of course, it's in the ballads where Mattea really shines, such as on "Hurt Some," the Celtic-flavored "Love's Not Through With Me Yet," and the streamlined country of "Loving You, Letting You Go," easily the most heart-wrenching cut on the disc. But it doesn't end there with brokenness, as "Live It," "Give It Away," and "Only Heaven Knows" reveal where hurt becomes self-determination and freedom. The album closes with a fine and utterly new arrangement of the old gospel tune "Wade in the Water." It's gritty, funky, and greasy. Wurlitzer and organ fuel the backdrop and the Settles Connection provide the backing chorus, keeping it firmly in the gospel tradition. Mattea is one of those singers who can do anything she likes; her emotive phrasing and willingness to stretch herself are commendable, and Right Out of Nowhere is one of her most ambitious outings yet. ~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Joy for Christmas Day'
Release Date 9/30/2003
Tracks 11
Label Narada
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The two-time Grammy winner checks in with her first Christmas disc in ten years, drawing from all the unique traditions that have enhanced her career as a decorated country artist -- including folk, bluegrass, and Celtic. The key to a strong holiday CD is finding clever new arrangements of the classics and offering originals that present the spirit in a unique way. Mattea does both, opening with an Irish folk-styled "Christmas Collage" featuring marching drums, bells, and a small choral group. The Celtic flavors tag along throughout, informing both her vocal approach and instrumentation (pennywhistle, mandolin) on a jubilant, Handel-inspired "Unto Us a Child Is Born" and the more subtle and wistful "Straw Against the Chill." "Baby King" blends steel guitar and a country gospel choir behind Mattea's most powerful delivery, and the similarly organic country flavors make the clap-along "When the Baby Grew Up" a wildly irresistible back-porch burner. Mattea is also aces on more traditionally arranged pieces like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," which she performs with only a gentle guitar accompaniment. Definitely one of 2003's best holiday treats. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kathy Mattea has always teetered on the Nashville edge with her music. On Roses, her 13th studio album, she pushes the envelope, bringing to the forefront the blending of the Scottish/Irish music found in small doses on her last few albums. "That's All the Lumber You Sent," the first track, screams Celtic, as does the instrumental "Isle of Inishmore." But whatever the musical style, brooding and contemplative lyrics accompany all of the tracks. Mattea's warm alto voice comes across opulently in "The Slender Threads That Bind Us Here" and the Kim Richey remake "I'm Alright." This album isn't the country music of the former Grammy-winner and CMA vocalist of the year, but it wins high marks for creative expression and originality. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A brisk song with tempo and lyrical substance, "Trouble With Angels" is one of only two songs on this 11th studio release from Mattea that isn't a ballad. Written and recorded during a time when she was facing the declining health of her father, much of the music on The Innocent Years is about the tender mercies of life: love, family relationships, faith in God, perseverance, commitment, and growing old. Most notably poignant is "That's the Deal," a tribute to her father and the health struggles he's recently faced. The album gets high marks for vocal collaborations with the likes of Suzy Bogguss, Alison Krauss, and pop singer Graham Nash. And the album's bonus track, "BFD," a crowd favorite in her live shows, ends the album on a playful note. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though the glossy production may put off some of her old country-folk fans, Love Travels is a typically tasteful and compelling record from Kathy Mattea. While it is more uneven Walking Away A Winner, most of the record is first-rate, finding the perfect middle-ground between country-folk and mainstream contemporary country. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide
'Walking Away a Winner'
Release Date 1/1/1994
Tracks 10
Label Mercury
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What The Critics Say
Walking Away a Winner is the rocked-up/pop side of Kathy Mattea. With records by Mary Chapin Carpenter gathering steam as well as those of Beth Nielsen Chapman, Lucinda Williams getting some notice, and Bonnie Raitt riding the very top of the charts over the previous two years, Mattea took a listen and apparently liked what she heard. There are layers and layers of guitars on the album, and nowhere are they borne out more than on the title track that opens the album. With producer Josh Leo and a deck of tough songs, Mattea showed a side her country audience hadn't yet seen, and one that the adult contemporary and emerging AAA formats could embrace. In other words, the album, with its tightly knit group of astonishingly well-written pop songs done in a slight country manner by a crack group of players, was a winning formula. It's a record that stands the test of time. What makes Mattea such a great singer -- besides her gift of a voice -- is her empathy. She finds herself in every song she records. On tape, there is no separation between her and her characters, whether it's the woman finally walking away from a dead relationship and seeing herself not as beaten but as free in the title track, the rambling woman relentlessly seeking that lost love no matter where the search takes her in the rollicking "Streets of Your Town," or the overworked, underappreciated wife and mother who breaks down in "Maybe She's Human." From "Clown in Your Rodeo," with its ringing electric 12-strings and hard-swinging refrain, through the final track, the haunting jazzy ballad "Who's Gonna Know," conviction and commitment are fully on display, along with an elegance that is both accessible and sophisticated. This is a winner indeed. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Lonesome Standard Time'
Release Date 3/30/1993
Tracks 10
Label Mercury
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Mattea had vocal-cord surgery that threatened to end her career before she made Lonesome Standard Time, but you couldn't prove it by listening: her voice hasn't lost a bit of its deep alto warmth. Lonesome Standard Time isn't as ambitious as Time Passes By, but it's filled with lovely performances from Mattea's favorite sources: bluegrass ("Lonesome Standard Time"), gospel-influenced country ("Standing Knee Deep in a River (Dying of Thirst)") and Nanci Griffith ("Listen to the Radio"). ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kathy Mattea's album for the Christmas season is unlike any country Christmas record ever released. For starters, she and producer Brent Maher commissioned original songs rather than taking them from the canon, or adapted obscure songs from the ages. Secondly, the band was formed around what served each song to make it feel as organic as possible. Strange instruments appear, such as the marimbas on "New Kid in Town," recorders and a high string guitar and recorders on "Christ Child Lullaby" (courtesy of Dougie MacLean and Jim Horn), and a full choir on the closing title track. This doesn't feel like any Christmas record you've ever heard before, either. It sounds like a well-crafted, gorgeously wrought folk/country/Celtic-flavored Kathy Mattea record. Give a listen to any of the above, or especially the haunted traditional song "Brightest and Best," completely reworked by Mattea and Maher. The guitars caress the open space between themselves and Mattea's voice, as the pipes and recorders float within. Likewise, listen to "Mary Did You Know," which is one of the most stunningly beautiful Christian folk songs written in decades (by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene). But then, while songs can be many things, they cannot be given life without a singer, and on Good News, in Mattea's instrument, the grains of truth add up to something incalculable: high art. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
