Disco de Iris DeMent: “The Way I Should”

Iris has been polarizing opinions and confounding expectations throughout her career and this, the third of her four albums to date, is no exception. Everything she does is heartfelt and musically satisfying but, being so varied, will not always be to your taste. She loses some fans and gains others with each release.

Some of the songs here hark back to the style of 60s protest songs, especially There's a Wall in Washington and Wasteland of the Free. I personally found the former (about the Vietnam commemorative wall) heartbreakingly powerful, whereas the latter came over as too strident and simplistic.

I still love Iris best when she is light and lyrical, as she is on my favorite track, When My Morning Comes Around. But long may she extend her thematic range and continue to explore new avenues of creativity. Listen to her with an open mind and an open heart and you may well fall in love with her too.

This release is a fantastic display of the depth and creativity that Iris DeMent fans have already come to know and love. Every track is a delicious new taste of life as Iris and many of us live it.

"There's a Wall in Washington" paints a picture so vivid that you can practically feel the black granite and it's followed by a tune that is a perfect display of the heart and soul of Folk Music "Wasteland of the Free". Her words ring true and the music complements the feelings evoked so perfectly.

I found "I'll Take My Sorrow Straight" refreshing with it's sort of New Orleans flavored beat and "The Way I Should" was joyful and fun even though it deals with a very real and sometimes bothersome fact of life. Songs like this one make me feel like I know Iris and she is also me.

Basically, Iris is more delightful than ever on this outing and everything that fans of folk music could hope for. Her voice is pure as ever and even tho her music has picked up some of that "big time" polish it isn't overbearing and her music still rings true as folk through and through. I'm listening to it over and over again!

This, Iris Dement's third cd, marks a bit of a departure from the style that so many fans embraced with her first two efforts -- but the songwriting is as strong, if not stronger that ever, and Iris' voice never sounded better. If she has taken this opportunity to speak out on some issues that are important to her (and, truth be told, to us all), then I say more power to her.

After two (for the most part) acoustic-based albums, Iris has chosen to stretch her own envelope a bit on this release -- some of these cuts rock, and one in particular, 'There's a wall in Washington', is pretty experimental in its arrangement. The multiple basses used on this track are very effective in establishing the mood of the piece.

I think a lot of people are a little disappointed when someone breaks out of the pigeon-hole in which their listeners have attempted to place them -- and this is true in all areas of the entertainment field. People get comfortable -- a little TOO comfortable sometimes -- thinking of an artist in a particular way, and when that artist steps out of these artificial boundaries a little bit (or a lot), the response can be pretty reactionary.

Several of the songs on this album deal with subjects that a lot of folks would be more comfortable ignoring -- depression and recovery, parents shrugging off the responsibility of raising their children, the scars left by the Vietnam War, etc. The strongest of the 'issue' songs on this set is 'Letter to Mom', in which a grown woman finally comes to terms with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her mother's boyfriend. Iris has said that this song is fictional, and there is no reason to disbelieve this -- even more reason to laud her for writing and performing it. Speaking out on this vital issue is incredibly important, and she should be commended for it, not condemned.

'There's a wall in Washington' is very poignantly written -- decrying the horrors and division that our nation endured during the difficult era of the Vietnam War, without being judgemental, without dishonoring those who served.

'When my morning comes around' and the title track, 'The way I should' are some of the strongest, most intelligent songs I've ever come across that deal with a person reclaiming control of their life -- these songs, as well as 'Letter to Mom' should be recognized for their potential in giving courage to and empowering a large section of our society, a group of people who are too often ignored or told '...you shouldn't really talk about that sort of thing...people don't want to hear about it'. Well guess what -- it won't go away by itself.

There are love songs here as well -- 'This kind of happy' is just simply gorgeous, with some of the most heartfelt lyrics you'll ever hear. 'Trouble', her extended duet with the great Delbert McClinton, is just plain fun.

This is a great album -- it's different in style and content from her first two, granted, but it's a great album all the same. Iris Dement is a talented songwriter and performer who has a conscience and is not afraid to express it. It's too bad that more artists don't come out of the hole that their fans and the media construct for them and say 'hey, what about this...' once in awhile.

It's been 5 years since this, her last release, came out -- I hope this doesn't mean that she's taken the naysayers too seriously. If I could talk to her, I'd say 'Nice job, Iris -- bring it on!'

Im surprised I had not heard of her before. Her incredible song writing talents both in lyrics and melodic construction are almost without peer. I have not purchased a CD of an artist I was not allready familiar with that I have enjoyed so much. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good song writting.

"The Way I Should" quite honestly is not quite up to the standards of Iris's first two albums "Infamous Angel," and "My Life." Having said that, it is still an impressive piece of work.The problem here is the production, which adds to much band (including electric instruments) to the mix. Still, not even that can distract from Iris' well demonstrated songwriting talents. "There's A Wall In Washington," "Wasteland of the Free" "The Way I Should" and "Quality Time are all first rate Iris songs. Even if there are a tad overproduced, Iris is still singing them, and that's nothing to gripe too much about!