WhatzUp

Dancing With Them That Brung Me
Stacey Earle
by David Todoran

Dancing With Them That Brung Me

Iíd been hoping to find a soundtrack to summer when my wife returned from an NYC show with Earleís Dancing with Them That Brung Me, along with her first, Simple Gearle and brother Steveís Transcendental Blues. Truth be told, thereís been little room for anything else in the olí CD changer since spring.

Earleís rustic and often angelic alto might get her pegged as a folksinger, but her sophomore effort overflows with songs that seem to spring from traditional sources, only to rush headlong toward open sea. Dancing kicks off with the ambling Appalachian gait of brother Steveís ìPromise You Anything.î From there on out, Stacey has her say on 11 ìperty songsî that lilt, bounce and brood amidst an under-adorned acoustic setting. Husband Mark Stuart adds sprightly acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmonies, while son Kyle Mims keeps time with an array of percussion ranging from stripped down drums to simple touches of timpani, maracas and shakers. Bassist Michael Webb adds atmospheric accordion and organ to the mix.

Listeners expecting a ìgrrrlî version of brother Steveís often hard-boiled angst will discover something quite different. The Earle Gearle doesnít grind away at such a big honkiní axe, but thatís not to say she canít cut just as deep. On ìNo New Shoes,î she works through the ambivalence of growing up a poor girl in the shadow of a beauty queen. ìGoodbyeî says just that to an insensitive loveró-and rather than agonize over what sheís lost, the subject relishes in the sheer joy of finding herself. Stacey shares Steveís knack for honest emotion, but where the elder Earle specializes in stark narrative, Stacey takes a more impressionistic approach. Take the achingly beautiful look at mother/daughter love on ìKiss Her Goodnight,î a duet with Sheryl Crow: ìEverything that you hold / turning worth its weight in gold / unfold your hand / through your fingers slips out sand / bits and pieces of broken hearts / one here and there, the spare parts / grab ëer youíre gonna need her / that baby, sheís a keeper.î

They say that ìhappyî songs are the hardest to write. With Dancing, Earle has crafted some remarkably uplifting acoustic music that illuminates the tiniest tinges of joy ó even as it delves into lifeís darkest corners.