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UNSPOKEN • Carter Wood
Moving and magnificent. Ripe with atmosphere and emotion, sends chills up my spine. This is the best unsigned artist I know, period. I've been following the music of Carter Wood closely since I met her several years ago, and my admiration grows every time I see her play or hear something new on tape. She's gathered a very classy bunch of players around her Nashville gigs--they hear it, too. Glenn Worf on bass, producer Doug Lancio on singularly ambient guitar (when he's not out with Patty Griffin or Martina McBride), Bruce Bouton on steel. These names may mean more to our Nashville readers as live players, but you'll find them on many records in your collection as well.
So, this is a real occasion, the debut of a great new artist, self released before the right label finds it. Already I can't get enough of it.
Doug Lancio is a great musician who's starting to produce some fantastic records. Watch for him. He did Patty Griffin's latest, and I like this production even better. He's a comer.
These tunes are so beautiful. Scores of so-called songwriter records cross my desk every month, and in my opinion it's really hard to find any great tunes, but Carter's record has plenty. She cowrites a lot with all kinds of characters, and shows here a lot of turns to her diamond. She and Jim Lauderdale scored a George Strait hit not long ago with "Don't Make Me Come Over There (and Love You)," but the songs on Unspoken are pop that came from Country, not to be confused with country pop.
Aside from the sterling contributions of the producer and aforementioned players, Daniel Tashian puts down some badass tracks on guitar, bass, piano, and drums, especially on "That Feeling." Paul Franklin also plays some knockout steel guitar, as usual.
One of the best things I've heard all year, and long awaited. Buy it. • FG
