Disco de Iris DeMent: “My Life”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Personnel: Iris DeMent (vocals, acoustic guitar); Richard Bennett (acoustic & electric guitars); "Cowboy" Jack Clement, Mark Howard (acoustic guitar); Al Perkins (dobro); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); John Catchings (cello); Phil Parlapiano (accordion); Charles Cochran, Pete Wasner (piano, keyboards); Roy Huskey Jr. (acoustic bass); Pat McInerney (drums); Kenny Malone (percussion); Joy White (background vocals). Recorded at The Cowboy Arms Hotel and the Recording Spa, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Iris DeMent. MY LIFE was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. From the opening notes of "Sweet Is The Melody," the listener is transported by Iris DeMent's simple dignity and grace. Listening to MY LIFE is like thumbing through an old sepia-toned photo album or riding the buckboards on your way home from a little rural church. The high lonesome timbre of Iris DeMent's soprano, the yodeling cry that colors her vocal ornaments, the crystalline grace of her acoustic guitar, all these bespeak a much simpler, more innocent time. And today, when rhinestone cowboys and Arbitron ratings have eclipsed the folk lineage of country music, MY LIFE is a glorious anomaly, a timeless collection of country ballads that don't seek to recapture the past so much as to reconcile the old ways to new feelings. Which is part of what makes her nostalgic interpretations of the gospel tune "Troublesome Waters" and Lefty Frizzell's "Mom & Dad's Waltz" so poignant...yet strangely contemporary. DeMent extols the simple pleasures of her youth on "Childhood Memories," then laments her lost childhood on "No Time To Cry," where she relates the particulars of her father's funeral and uses it as an extended metaphor for adult rites of passage. On "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day" she relates the everyday particulars of marriage and family in a matter-of-fact litany of faded dreams, disenchantment, and stoic resignation. In closing she likens her life to "A passing September that no one will recall," then remembers that "I gave joy to my mother/I made my lover smile/And I can give comfort to my friends when they're hurting..." It's a beautiful moment, a simple victory over despair, and a powerful coda to one of the most heartfelt country albums of 1994.

I have to admit that the first time I heard "No Time To Cry", it left me on the verge of tears. It is a an evocative, ethereal, and memorable excursion into the existential dilemmas of contemporary adulthood and how difficult it is to keep one's feelings and priorities in place in the face of the ice-cold indifference of the world. This wonderful CD is a treasure for anyone who loves the unique of country and folk music that Iris DeMent bridges so artfully. All of her music here is original and special, and she has matured from her beginnings to become a most singular and precious folk treasure. She mixes her deep natural religiosity with an awesome practicality in her verses, as in the opening cut "Sweet Is The Melody", and waxes sentimental in "You've Done Nothing Wrong" about a love affair that has failed because the two have grown in different directions. Iris manages to wring honest, beautiful and special qualities from each of her compositions, whether we are talking about "Calling For You", "Childhood Memories", or "Troublesome Waters". As I mentioned earlier, "No Time to Cry" is a gorgeously written, sung, and performed song, and I have it on all of my home-made "favorites tapes". Yet this whole song cycle is terrific, and I only hope she continues to produce such special and original music for all of us who love her music and her sweet gentle vision of a life well lived and well loved. Enjoy.

I was at work when I first heard "Childhood Memories" while listening to a college radio station. Most often, while working one is not paying attention to what emanates from the radio. But this time I was struck by the this song as few songs had done in a very long time. The clarity, simplicity and beauty of Ms Dement's voice took my breath away. "Childhood Memories" is simply put a magnificent song. Even though I was raised in Italy (a different world from the one of Ms Dement's), I was instantly taken in by this beautiful song and its meaning. When I went home taht day, I decided to go and buy the CD. This is work that wants your attention, and its simplicity can be deceiving. "My Life" is a wonderful work, something that Iris Dement should be justifiably proud of. Hers is pure country. She has become one of my favorite singers.

She loves her parents, has an abiding respect for those who came before her, and believes in God without feeling compelled to preach about it. In a world of product on demand and genre-specific themes, her's is a refreshing step backward into a time when singer-songwriters dared let us into their worlds. She is troubled, but hopeful; confident, but not arrogant; spirited, without being pretentious. You could almost say she suffers from a bit of the old naiveté, but that only says more about us than her. A gem. Inspirational verse from the title track, "My life, it don't count for nothin'". Not damn likely! A+

If you are offended by hillbilly accents, you won't like Iris Dement -- but her accent suits her homey songs. Cut through the twang and she's a sophisticated lady who sings of commonplace things to make profound observations. She usually skirts the right side of maudlin -- although she crosses the line on "Mom & Dad's Waltz" (sample line: "I'm happy ...and I pray everyday for ma and pappy." There's such a thing as trying too hard to make a rhyme!) Balance that against an intriquing line like "the dance floor is for gliding, not jumping over ponies." There are two songs I love. "No Time to Cry" is a lament for a lost father and "Easy's Getting Harder Every Day" is all about a loveless marriage. Dement's first two CDs are similar and equally good -- about family and childhood and growing up and lost innocence. She hasn't recorded anything of note, to my knowledge, in several years. I wonder what happened to her?