Eilen Jewell (from the album Get Behind the Wheel

Eilen Jewell (from the album Get Behind the Wheel

Eilen Jewell (from the album Get Behind the Wheel available on Signature Sounds Recordings) (by Brian Rock)
Mercurial Americana legend, Eilen Jewell, takes the driver’s seat on her ninth album Get Behind the Wheel. While the rest of us were dealing with Covid; Jewell was dealing with the pandemic and the dissolution of her marriage. While lesser souls may have crumbled under double-duty tragedy, Eilen Jewell is made of tougher stuff. When life handed her lemons, she made a lemon gin fizz, then rubbed the rind right back in the eye of those who gave them. Fully displaying her fierce, independent spirit, Get Behind the Wheel showcases her mesmerizing Roots-noir voice, also exploring psychedelic influences from The Velvet Underground, with a subtle splash of Dick Dale, and a sprinkling of Wanda Jackson.
“Lethal Love” is a Dick Dale inspired gut punch to her ex. Singing ‘are we gonna roll like thunder or dig our graves six feet under?’, she contrasts what could have been with the sad reality of what is. Soaring Surf Rock guitar licks and electric organ create an atmosphere that’s simultaneously playful and haunting.
Having vented her anger, Eilen Jewell retreats to nature and finds peace in “Crooked River”. Inspired by the body of water bearing the same name in her native Idaho, the song combines Red Dirt and Texas Blues styles with weepy pedal steel leading the way. Offering comfort in the storyline, Jewell sings ‘oh loneliness, she’s haunted me forever. But I’ve learned to look her straight in the eye. And when she sneaks up on me down by Crooked River. Well, she hardly even makes me cry’. A beautiful song of healing and wholeness, the cut is as refreshing as a dip in a mountain stream. “Winnemucca” continues the pedal steel and Country influences. “Breakaway” adds a Memphis Soul feel as Eilen Jewell continues to wrestle with the aftermath of her shattered relationship. “Come Home Soon,” leans more on the Blues side with a twist of cocktail Jazz. Jewell’s sultry, haunting voice takes center stage on the Country Noir stylings of “Outsiders”, “Silver Wheels and Wings”, and “The Bitter End”. The last of which is more noir than Country. In “The Bitter End”. she surveys her emotional landscape, singing ‘this is where you have to start, oh, you, crazy heart; from the ashes from the dirt, from the wound, from the hurt’. Despite the trauma of the way things ended, she realizes that an end to one chapter also marks the beginning of a new chapter. Full of grit and determination, Eilen Jewell proves she is ready to Get Behind the Wheel once again. (by Brian Rock)
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