Hi, there! This page is part of an opinionated guide to what I call "hard country" music -- the real stuff -- with a bunch of record reviews and recommendations by me, Joe Sixpack. Naturally, it's a work in progress, and will hopefully be expanded on quite a bit, as time allows.
Donna Ulisse "Trouble At The Door" (Atlantic, 1991)
(Produced by Ray Baker, Josh Leo & Larry Michael Lee)
The lone major-label outing of this aspiring (and very talented) Top Forty singer... I love the way she looks so sheepish and unconfident on the cover photo... The music inside also reveals an ambivalence and mixed feel -- somewhat cheesy, overproduced pop-country arrangements but with compelling, soulful vocals. Ulisse does seem like a diamond in the rough here -- the album's two singles, "Things Are Mostly Fine" and "When Was The Last Time" only barely grazed the Back Forty, although she managed to reemerge nearly two decades later with a series of fine releases that showed what she might have been capable of, had '90s Nashville given her more of a chance...
Donna Ulisse "When I Look Back" (Hadley Music Group, 2007)
Donna Ulisse "Walk This Mountain Down" (Hadley Music Group, 2009)
(Produced by Keith Sewell)
A one-time would-be Top Forty star of the 1990s resurfaces as a soulful bluegrass balladeer, with sweet accompaniment from 'grassy stalwarts such as Rob Ickes, Andy Leftwich, Scott Vestal... and Claire Lynch singing harmony on one song as well! Ulisse's voice is rich and soulful, with poetical lyrics and several dips into heartfelt, Jesus-drenched gospel and inspirational songs of a more secular tilt. There's also plenty of hot, sweet bluegrass picking and robust twangy numbers that'll set your toes a-tapping. One highlight is the contemplative "Child Of The Great Depression," about the wisdom that older generations have to offer us. A very strong album from a true bluegrass independent. Definitely worth checking out!
Donna Ulisse "Holy Waters" (Hadley Music Group, 2010)
(Produced by Keith Sewell)
A top-flight set of bluegrass gospel, all the more impressive because, other than a nice Stanley Brothers cover, these are all original songs written or co-written by Ms. Ulisse herself. There's a hint of slower, more Southern Gospel-style songwriting, but for the most part this is strong, upbeat bluegrass material, with tight backing from elite pickers such as Rob Ickes, Andy Leftwich, Scott Vestal and guitarist-producer Keith Sewell. Once apon a time, Ulisse was a Nashville country singer reaching for the Top 40 brass ring; after a decade or so out of the music business, she's come back to it from an indie angle, born again in more ways than one. If you like country gospel and bluegrass, you'll definitely want to check this out.
Uncle Tupelo - see alt.country guide
