Reviewer: Paul Leslie
The music of America’s Appalachia region has influenced almost every genre: blues, rock and roll, and especially country music. Stemming from the tradition of Scottish, Irish, and English ballad singing, Appalachian music is strongly evident in bluegrass, Americana, and old-time music.
In this great music, you can feel the lives of the singers and writers. In the past and to this day, there is great joy and sorrow in the songs of this region.
The print of the Appalachia region is evident
Amanda Colleen Williams is a singer-songwriter from the Appalachian region with a strong understanding of this “Hillbilly” culture. Whether she’s on stage or a record, Amanda Colleen Williams always means it. Affecting the heart is what she does, and it’s never been more true than on her new record Appalachia Kid.
As a songwriter, she’s had some of the utmost singers record her work, from George Jones to Garth Brooks. Those who have ever seen her take the stage can attest that she is her own artist first and foremost.
Williams’ singing on Appalachia Kid is expressive
Listening to the Appalachia Kid album, lets you know that this is an artist who is very much in touch with what it is to be alive. Amanda’s songs are colored with all shades of affections. Amanda is a very expressive vocalist. This album has its merriment, but as in life: sombreness. The full range of human emotions is on display on Appalachia Kid.
So many artists search for their voices. Most of the time what they seek is the freedom to be who they truly are and it can be a fight to get to that place. This is the kind of authenticity conveyed on this record.
Amanda Colleen Williams co-wrote almost all of the tracks
Most of the tunes on the album were crafted with her brilliant songwriting collaborator Pete Garfinkel. The title track sets the stage, where the singer describes “surrounded by smallness and mama’s silk pajamas.” The song illustrates the worldview of those brought up in Appalachia: “grew up in the country, In a town you never heard of before.” It’s a song that is at once personal but shared by many.
Heartbreak. Anguish. It’s all a part of the human condition. As Hank Williams wrote, you’ll “never get out of this world alive.” There’s a raw honesty in “History,” (written with Garfinkel) that makes it my favorite song on the record.
A complete listening experience
The material Garfinkle & Williams wrote is varied, but somehow the songs all fit together like a completed puzzle. There are songs like “Enemy” which has a kind of bluegrass feel to it. You could imagine it being covered by a bluegrass band. Then there’s the plaintive “Leaves No Scars,” that’s unadulterated honesty. If soulfulness and emotion is a gauge, you know that Amanda Colleen Williams can really sing!
Appalachia Kid has two unique covers
There’s a timeless “folk-like” quality to this collection of songs, including on the two covers. Williams manages to make Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire,” her interpretation. She does right by Bruce. Same with “Papa Loved Mama,” which was written by Amanda’s own papa, the late Kim Williams, and superstar Garth Brooks. Amanda Colleen Williams is an original, and given her lineage, there’s something poetic about this track. Who would have known the daughter of one of the writers, would end up singing and recording a song called “Papa Loves Mama.”
“I Am Saved” feels like a meditative prayer
Then there’s “I Am Saved,” a song that feels like a meditative prayer. There aren’t many songs able to give serenity or contemplation. “I Am Saved,” offers both, and the vocal comes from a very real place: the heart.
The album ends in an intriguing way
Listening to Appalachia Kid is an experience meant to be played as a whole piece, but the closing song “That Playground is Closed” is the most original. It’s quirky and quaint, complete with a sound we’ve all heard before if you listen closely. Somehow Williams manages to create a sound on this track that conjures the same vibe as an Alan Lomax field recording.
Listening closely is a good idea when it comes to Appalachia Kid. With each listen I notice subtle vocal inflections, a lyric that strikes me differently, and new interpretations of meaning. You’ll want to pay attention to this Appalachia Kid.
Title: Appalachia Kid
Artist: Amanda Colleen Williams
Producer: Amanda Colleen Williams
Label: Hillbilly Culture
Release date: October 29, 2021
12 songs (CD & Digital)
