It's amazing how many good singers from the early '70s have recorded several worthy albums only to disappear from the scene forever.
Tracy Nelson, from the photo on her self-titled album, gives the appearance of just a slip of a girl, but her voice defies one's eyes. From the first notes of the album,
Nelson brings her deep, resonant vocals to bear on ten songs, nine of which were gleaned from her songwriting peers. She's joined in the studio by the cream of Nashville studio cats, a sparkling group of players who lay down a heavy R&B backdrop perfectly suited for her powerful set of pipes. It doesn't hurt that
Bob Johnston (of
Bob Dylan fame) is sitting in the production chair, nor that he lent
Nelson the sexy number "Rock Me in Your Cradle." The good songs on
Tracy Nelson run deep, so one needs to stick around long enough to hear the funkiest, coolest version of
Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" ever to grace vinyl. If you can imagine
Aretha Franklin recording with
Little Feat, then you've got the idea. There's also a stone-country version of "After the Fire Is Gone" (which charted at the time) with
Willie Nelson in tow. All this is to say that
Tracy Nelson is a solid, soulful album. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.