After 8 years as bassist and singer with Redneck Underground band Drive By Truckers, Shonna Tucker largely abandons the raw twang of Alt.Country in favour of something closer to the soulful Muscle Shoals sound of the sweet home Alabama near where she grew up. "It's more Bobbie Gentry than Lynyrd Skynrd", she admits.
The opening tune (Since Jimmy Came) is from the perspective of a single mom and her changed perspective on family life. Your Jealousy contains some barbed lines about an ex which probably has something to do with the fact that Tucker was going through a difficult divorce with former Trucker, Jason Isbell when putting together these songs.
Old Fashioned and You Went All The Way are more positive declarations of love and respect but her song writing in general is quite random, straddling an uneven line between wholesome fun and the less savoury side of life.
Prime example of the latter is Arielle which seems like a sweet lullaby but turns out to tell a dark story of child abuse ("9 years old pure as gold you messed up her bed").
The album title comes from A Family Dinner, an invitation to gather round the table and share some juicy gossip: "we're gonna eat and tell some things that might make your chicken skin crawl".
However, the lyrics to the grungey blues rock of I Brought A Pie suggest such food-based occasions might not be as homely or peaceable as you'd imagine: "I bought a pie and I bought a lover and I bought all of your guns".
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Though Tucker may not entirely sure if she wants to be sassy or sweet, her country roots are never in doubt and are most evident in the Dolly Parton-esque Linda Please about trying to tame a wild child.
Her Eye Candy band draws upon experienced male players from her current home town of Athens, Georgia and includes another ex-Trucker and boyfriend John Neff on guitar and pedal steel. Lonely People is an overly predictable song about isolation but is noteworthy for featuring the legendary Spooner Oldham guesting on keyboards.
If this album were a meal it would be a stew containing ingredients that come to hand rather than from any specific recipe. There's R'n'B, soul, country and pop and though not all of it tastes good, there's the consolation that it's all served up with some good old fashioned Southern hospitality.
Shonna Tucker's website
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