mp3 320 kbps | 101 MB | UL | UA
On Blue Sky Thinkin’, McCue superbly features musicians Dave Raven, Carl Byron, Dusty Wakeman, and Jim Hoke, and she is joined on one track (“Devil in the Middle”) by The Blasters’ Dave Alvin on vocals. As a vocalist, McCue is somewhere between the sultry sound of a Norah Jones and the gritty lilt of a Lucinda Williams with a touch of Chrissie Hynde “brass” thrown in for good measure. The sound of the album ventures from a swinging opener (“Dig Two Graves”) to shadings redolent of Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain” (from his infamous breakup album, Blood on the Tracks) on what could easily be one of this album’s potential singles, “Spring Cleaning in Winter.” (“Cowgirl Blues” would be a good choice for single release, too, though the honor has already gone to the sublime and heartbreaking “Things You Left Out in the Rain” which has even yielded a music video!) The album’s centerpiece, “Save a Life,” is a perfect jam song for concert, with a cool, yearning soundscape reminiscent of the Peggy Lee classic “Fever.” Lyrically, this is an album in which McCue goes from having her dreams “tattered and torn” (“Knock on Wood”) to being found by “Lady Love” (“Blue Sky Thinkin’”) and along the way there just may be a grave or two to watch out for.
By the time BST reaches the track, Cowgirl Blues, the bottom has dropped out and the production intentionally goes not necessarily as lo-fi as a Jessica Pratt album, but certainly to a raw, honest state that harkens back to Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator). Blue Sky Thinkin’ marks the evolution of a clever songwriter and consummate musician, not to mention a favorite guitarist of Lucinda Williams. Knock on wood, but Anne McCue’s time has arrived on what is her most realized album to date.