Tami Neilson from Kingmaker

Tami Neilson from Kingmaker

Tami Neilson (from Kingmaker available on Outside Music) (by Lee Zimmerman)

A true chanteuse with a proven pedigree, Tami Neilson possesses both attitude and aptitude in equal measure. Canadian born and New Zealand-based, she can claim a wealth of prestigious awards in her adopted homeland, all of which attest to both her talent and tenacity. Each of her previous albums have advanced to the top of the top of the charts, but it was her last effort, CHICKABOOM!, that found her making her name in the Americana world as world as well.

Kingmaker appears poised to maintain that momentum, given a set of songs that’s both definitive and decisive. The driven delivery shared in “King of Country Music” extends her ambition while stating her case explicitly:
 
‘No southern drawl and no grits from Grandma
8000 miles more south of Alabama
You can bet, most famous girl ain’t no-one heard of yet
(But I’m all set)’
 
Tami Neilson proves that point time and again, perhaps most emphatically on her duet with Willie Nelson “Beyond the Stars” but also on the song that follows, “Green Peaches”, a track that finds her emulating Bobbie Gentry as she lamented the fate that befell Billy Joe McAllister as he leapt — or possibly was tossed — from the Tallahatchie Bridge. It’s that same sass and spunk that informs any number of offerings here, from the insurgent strains of “Mama’s Talkin’” and the soulful wallop of the sprawling “Careless Woman” to the south of the border ambiance that echoes from “Baby, You’re a Gun”. Likewise, the strings that underscore “I Can Forget” affirm the fact that Neilson’s now graduated from wannabe lounge singer to an artist no longer relegated to the campy confines and the beehive hairdo that defined her previous persona.

Indeed, Tami Neilson’s no shrinking violet and she makes no attempt to hide the defiance and determination that allows her to claim her crown with Kingmaker. Closing track “Ain’t My Job” finds her once again declaring her aims and intent:
 
‘Hell no, hell to the no no
I don’t need no sugar daddy-o
Just like Dolly saying no to The King
You want half, make me laugh
Ain’t you heard me sing?’

Suffice it to say that once that encounter takes place, that regard and respect will follow. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
 
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