Skip to content
Elly Roberts reviews
Warner Bros.
- March 2008
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:
Shakeys missus steps outta the shadows. Neils helping out.
When youre married to songwriting genius Neil Young, it mustve been adaunting task making your own record. Even more impressive is that Warnershave boldly signed her, considering her lack of recognition as a writer in herown right.
When listening to it, its a bit worrying that hubby is on board, but Isuppose inevitable. He plays guitars, electric sitar, harmonica and vocalsbacked by a host of luminaries like Spooner Oldham. Living next to a state ofthe art studio on their Californian ranch, it was only a matter of time beforeshe threw in her pennys worth.
Despite her lack of experience as a lead singer (shes been backing Neil for30 years) she makes a real fist of her debut, venturing very much into hubbysmusical landscapes adding some well done covers that ponder the tug of warbetween love and independence.
Many of the songs were written more than three decades, not that that matters,six of which appear here.
Pegi says of her efforts, “Ive been writing songs and poetry since highschool. It was something Id always wanted to do but could never make timefor. There were other things that took priority.”
What we get is a solid enough an album, but its not going to set the worldalight by any means. Neils distinctive harmonica opens lightweight balladFake, after which Pegis often deeply soulful and smokey vocalskick-in, boosted by some fine pedal steel. Its Hold On that reallystamps her writing potential, an achingly beautiful ballad, though her voicestruggles on the higher notes.
Neils twangy electric guitar drench the upbeat Love Like Water but itgets a bit messy on the quarter and half way points. When she hits themellower ballads such as Key To Love and Sometimes she soundslike shes in a better comfort zone adopting a lazier tone.
One of her covers, Sometimes Like A River is a gorgeous interpretation,and predictably texturised by Neils subliminal harmonica, more deft pedalsteel and bluesy acoustic guitar picks. Joe Sample and Will Jennings fun-packedI Like The Party Life brings a great bar-room blast which she handlesreasonably well but a bluesy rasp would have sounded better, floating thevocals above the chugging shuffle and rough and ready backups. Dan Penn andSpooner Oldhams country-gospel ballad Im Not Through Loving You Yetis one of the albums highlights.
File under : Getting there, but more work needed.
Weblinks:pegiyoung.com /myspace.com/pegiyoung
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Fake
2. Heterosexual Masses
3. When The Wild Life Betrays Me
4. Hold On
5. Love Like Water
6. Key To Love
7. Sometimes
8. Sometimes Like A River (Loving You)
9. I Like The Part Life
10. White Line In The Sun
11. Im Not Through Loving You Yet
12. Hidden track: Wrestle Awhile
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.