"Blooming." Kate MacLeod.
Salt Lake City-based singer/songwriter Kate MacLeod has explored many styles over her many years in the music business -- acoustic folk, folk rock, pop, country, Americana and amalgamations of all of the above. On "Blooming," her 10th release, MacLeod delves into most of these categories, delivering a strong CD with help from some very talented friends.
MacLeod called on Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer Tim O'Brien to helm the album. O'Brien also put together a crack studio backup band, including himself on backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo and fiddle, as well as Darrell Scott on guitars and piano, Byron House on bass and Kenny Malone on percussion. MacLeod sings lead and plays guitar, with O'Brien and company lending a clean yet warm and earthy sound to her music. MacLeod wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on "Blooming."
The album is an engaging listen start to finish. A standout is the twang-touched optimistic tune called "A Smile Worth a Million," which talks of appreciating the path taken, rather than the regret of the one not ventured.
Another song, a tender waltz-timed tune called "Return to Rawlins," looks at someone forced to stay put. Anyone who has dared to travel Wyoming's stretch of Interstate 80 in the winter months, where passers-through and natives alike often have to wait for the roads to clear, will relate. The song's character wants to travel, but has roots in that cold country:
"I know that I'm better than the mud on my leather/ And I'd like to go traveling and to give my regards/ To a star-lit town where I could go far/ with my good looks, my wit, and my charm/ But who'd keep an eye on the dreams of my darling/ And who'd keep an eye on my friends in a storm ..."
Though it's hard to single out the best overall song, it might be "Something Left You Living," with a folk-rock swing and captivating, slightly cryptic lyrics as well as fine harmony vocals.
Even the album cover art is a thing of beauty suiting the mood, with a William Matthews painting of a purple prickly pear in bloom. But there is definitely nothing prickly about MacLeod's latest. For those who love well-crafted, comfortable music with folkie flair, "Blooming" is a sweet Western treat.
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