Lisa O'Kane
Peace of Mind
Raisin' Kane Records
By Al Kunz
 It's amazing
how many of the Americana CDs that cross my desk where one of
the key points made by the accompanying press materials is how
well the artist has done in Europe. It makes sense that American
roots music does well in the United Kingdom. After all, we have
a native language in common and Americana is largely evolved
from British and Scottish folk music. But the significant following
in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands leaves me scratching
my head. The German label, Bear Family Records, is famous for
their comprehensive career-spanning box sets of American country
artists. Blue Rose, another German label, will often release
excellent Americana discs in Europe before an artist is able
to attract interest from a U.S. label (discs from roots-rockers
Big in Iowa for example). Then there's the annual Blue Highways
festival, Europe's "ultimate Americana festival" in
the Netherlands, covered each year by Marianne Ebertowski, Rockzillaworld's
European presence. For whatever reason Europeans apparently get
Americana, often clicking with a specific performer quicker than
North Americans.
Lisa O'Kane is another example of this phenomenon. "Wall
of Tears," a single from her last disc, Am I Too Blue,
spent 11 months (six weeks at #1) on the European Independent
Country Chart. Her latest performances have been a handful of
gigs in Nashville and around her Southern California home base
plus five solid weeks touring Germany and my ancestral homelands
of Switzerland and England. With Peace of Mind, O'Kane's
first release with U.S. distribution, those of us in the New
World now have a chance to experience O'Kane for ourselves.
O'Kane handpicked her Peace of Mind studio band from
the cream of Southern California's musicians. Pedal steel player
Jay Dee Maness, bassist Bob Glaub, drummer David Raven, and accordionist/pianist
Skip Edwards each have a list of credits longer than WNBA star
Lisa Leslie's legs. Harmony vocalist Teresa James has kept herself
busy too. Producer/guitarist Edward Tree, stringed-instrument-utility-man
Mark Fosson, and O'Kane account for most of the song writing
credits, the most notable exception being the bluegrass standard
"Foggy River."
After spinning Peace of Mind at least twenty times
I'm still not sure what the best description of overall sound
should be. The musical accompaniment is consistently good (as
you'd expect from the top-notch players). If you focus on the
music it's undeniably country with frequent forays into bluegrass
(most obvious on "Foggy River" and "Settle Down").
But without a conscious effort your natural focus is on O'Kane's
voice. The music provides a necessary foundation for the vocals,
yet stays out of the way enough that you might not be aware of
any specific genre.
You might also be tricked into thinking that Peace of Mind
contains only songs about love and romantic relationships. That's
almost true, but hidden amongst the love songs are a few exceptions.
"Coercion Street" covers the ode-to-his-roots title
track of Louisianan Ernie Payne's debut disc while the almost-acappella
"Little White Lies" applies to any relationship, romantic
or not. The simple lyrics ("Little white lies / Double in
Size / Grow into ugly / Misunderstandings") deals with the
subject in forty-four seconds although it goes slightly over
the minimalist standard of twenty-five words or less. .
However at the heart of Peace of Mind are songs of
the heart. "Settle Down" is an infectious, bluegrassy,
Ed Berghoff / Mark Fosson co-write about the difficulty of finding
love. The title track, while not explicitly about the quest for
love, seems like it could be. "Long Gone" and "Stronger
than your Memory" are about love gone bad, while "Wrap
Me Up" involves when love is going right. But my favorite
is "No Tomorrow." This tune hits on what might be turn
into new love (or at least feels like it for the moment).
Life is flying by our window
Time is moving way too fast
Ain't no countin' on the future
Ain't no future in the past
There is only here and now and you and me together
Gotta make each moment count
Love me like there's no tomorrow
No album works for every time or place. I won't be playing
Peace of Mind on the stereo during a wild party (and therefore
Lisa O'Kane won't be responsible for the neighbors calling the
police). Instead Peace of Mind will get the nod during
a romantic candle-lit dinner or, more likely, when that dinner
just ain't going to happen. Then, to paraphrase the lyrics from
"Wrap Me Up," O'Kane's voice can keep me from the cold
like a fuzzy blanket tucked around my soul.
www.lisaokane.com
Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net
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