Grey DeLisle (from the album She’s An Angel

Grey DeLisle (from the album She’s An Angel

Grey DeLisle (from the album She’s An Angel available on Hummin’bird Records) (by Mason P. Winfree)
Grey DeLisle explores the Honky Tonk side of her musicality on her latest album She’s An Angel. Grey DeLisle’s music has long been rooted in Country music traditions, especially Appalachian-tinged string music reminiscent of The Carter Family. With the release of She’s An Angel, DeLisle demonstrates that she is not an artist to be pigeon-holed into one style of music. Through the fourteen tracks included on the album, she exhibits that she can just as easily step into the role of a 1960’s style Honky Tonk singer, and sell it with 100% believability – and that is because she is the real deal.
Given her unparalleled resume of voice acting roles, it is not a surprise that Grey DeLisle is exceptional at conveying a story with her voice as a singer. From the very first track “I’ll Go Back to Denver (And You Can Go to the Hell)” she steps into the role of a woman who uproots her life in Colorado to move to California for her lover, only to discover his infidelity upon arrival. DeLisle delivers the tune she co-wrote with Eddie Clendening with just the right amount of sass and vitality that draws you right in to the music and the narrative.
With an artist as multi-faceted as Grey DeLisle it can be easy to overlook how strong of a writer she is. Country music has long been regarded as a genre for story songs, and She’s An Angel is full of them. The title track is sweet and melancholic as it takes the point of view of a mother watching her young daughter as she grows up, only to end in a heart-shattering climax that see’s the mother’s world completely changed in a split second. DeLisle’s voice-over narration on the track harkens back to story songs of country music’s golden years, reminiscent of songs found on Dolly Parton’s early albums.
 
 
And, speaking of Dolly Parton, the album includes only one cover – a version of the Billy Vera tune “I Really Got the Feeling” - which was a hit for Parton back in the late 1970s. DeLisle’s version is stripped down and allows her to shine exhibiting her crystalline vocals against the traditional Country instrumentation. She arguably gives Parton a run for her money as the definitive version of the song, for her version is one that you can’t help but revisiting again and again.
One of the stand-outs of the collection is the song “Stick and Poke (What Am I Gonna Do)” which demonstrates DeLisle’s ability to convey allusion through her songwriting. The song finds the narrator questioning what is she going to do about a stick and poke tattoo she acquired after she just allowed it to happen. The song invokes the concept of how we are forever changed by the decisions that we make and how they become a part of us as we continue to navigate through life. The song is smartly written and says so much while saying so little – the sign of a great writer.
She’s An Angel was produced by Deke Dickerson and Eddie Clendening. It was mixed and engineered by Dickerson at Eccofonic Studios in Northridge, California, as well as by Billy Horton at Fort Horton in Austin, Texas. The album features Dickerson, Clendening, Mike Molnar, Jacob Woodside, and Willie Barry on guitar; Dickerson, Jonny Bowler, Lelah Simon, and Michael Archer on bass; DJ Bonebrake, Bernie Dresel, and Chris Sensat on drums; Dave Berzansky and Dave Biller on pedal steel; Carl Sonny Leland and T. Jarod Bonta on piano; and Tammy Rogers on strings. The album features songwriting collaborations with Clendening, Big Sandy, and Brandon Lee Hudgeons; as well as a duet with Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson. (by Mason P. Winfree)
Listen and buy the music of Grey DeLisle from AMAZON
 
Please visit the Grey DeLisle website for more information