Artist:     Lucette

Album:     Deluxe Hotel Room

Label:     Thirty Tigers

Release Date:     5.17.19

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BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

Some of us out there may recall having to lift the needle, many times at the risk of scratching the hell out of your 89-cent 45, or worse your $3.98 LP, just to figure out exactly what was frustrating Mick Jagger to no end on “Satisfaction.” In my case it was part of my job, being in a bar band and having to keep up with the top 40 in order to keep working. In today’s digital world those days are over, but that doesn’t mean our troubles are.

Listening to Lucette’s sophomore effort Deluxe Hotel Room brought back flashbacks of that, as well as several melodies of all sorts of music I have listened to over the last 50 or 60 years. Her “Angel” places the melody, harmony and dance rhythms of ABBA squarely on your shoulder. As she asks to get “Out Of The Rain,” I could hear Merle Haggard asking “Are The Good Times Really Over For Good” and “Crazy Bird” flies melodically close to Hank William’s “robin weeping when leaves begin to die.”

ABBA to Williams is a pretty wide musical path to travel and make it work. She seems to pull it off somehow. Most likely because of her voice and the right moods she creates on these nine tunes she wrote. Still, it would be nice to be able to make out all the words of what she wants us to hear, as there are some interesting and intriguing lyrics throughout.

Produced by Sturgill Simpson, who used his touring band to back Lucette, and they all do it well, notably Brad Walker from Simpson’s earlier band, who was playing those sax response riffs to her call to “Fly To Heaven.”

In today’s amazing recording technology, I’m sure there is a plugin for elocution; this would be a far better record if somebody had used it.

—Ken Spooner