You certainly can't accuse
Kelly Hogan of dishing up "more of the same" on her third solo album,
Because It Feel Good -- while her previous release,
Beneath the Country Underdog, was a solid and satisfying dose of rootsy C&W and R&B,
Because It Feel Good aims for something a good bit more expressive, and much harder to pigeonhole.
Hogan has once again teamed up with a handful of superb Chicago-area musicians (including guitarist
Andy Hopkins, pedal steel virtuoso
Jon Rauhouse, and violinist
Andrew Bird, taking a breather from his own band Bowl of Fire), but she's also enlisted
David Barbe (best known as the former bassist with
Sugar) as producer, and with
Barbe's help
Hogan has gone for a broader and more impressionistic sound for this album. The opening cut, a cover of
the Statler Brothers' hit "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You," sets the tone with its echoey, skeletal guitar patterns, stark and boomy percussion, and
Hogan's beautiful, ethereal voice soaring above it all, achieving an effect that's at once gorgeous, heart-tugging, and a little ominous. It's a daring approach and a bravura performance, and it works superbly on both levels. While much of
Because It Feel Good takes a somewhat more traditional approach (particularly the low-key weeper "(You Don't Know) The First Thing About Love" and the soulful "Please Don't Leave Me Lonely"), for the most part the album strays admirably far from the formulaic constraints of typical alt-country, and
Hogan proves just how broad and how keen her talent is. While there are only two originals from
Hogan and
Hopkins, they're both superb, and as she recasts songs by
Charlie Rich,
Smog, and
Randy Newman -- often without changing the gender of the main characters and always with taste, intelligence, and a simply gorgeous voice -- she makes it clear she's one of the finest and most imaginative interpretive singers of her generation. If you're looking for updated honky tonk, this might not be your cup of tea, but if you want to hear a gifted and imaginative singer make the most of a diverse collection of fine tunes, then
Kelly Hogan's
Because It Feel Good deserves a place in your CD player. ~ Mark Deming