Songs from the Levee

Description

Songs from the Levee is the debut album the American singer and songwriter Kate Campbell, released on Large River Music in 1994. Re-issued by Compass Records the following year. The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Emrich at CedarHouse Studio in Arrington, Nashville; with Johnny Pierce producing for CedarHouse Productions, assisted by Emrich. All songs written by Kate Campbell, Johnny Pierce, and Ira Campbell, except track 4 written by Kate Campbell and Johnny Pierce.

This is Kate’s debut album and from the quality of her songwriting I expect it’s the first of many. Raised in Mississippi and Alabama, the daughter of a Baptist minister, Kate professes to showing her love of God through who she is rather than ‘preaching’ in her songs. You know when she starts to sing that this is the real thing… country music at its finest! Kate describes the album as her efforts to “merge history, memories and music” and she does it with great success. Her voice is as warm as the southern sun while she paints picture after picture in your mind. These songs really come alive, drawing you into the experiences. You can almost smell the old railway station in «Trains Don’t Run From Nashville» or the acres of golden fields in «Bury Me In Bluegrass». It’s great driving music too. Unfortunately I am usually on a grey dual carriageway in the south of England rather than a sun-baked highway in the deep south! Wherever you are though, ‘Songs From The Levee’ will take you as near as possible to the real country! [Martyn Tott, Cross Rhythms, June 1995]

Remastered CD

Songs From the Levee is Kate Campbell’s first album. Re-mastered ten years after its initial 1994 release, it contains five bonus tracks – one is an alternate take and four are acoustic mixes all of songs from the album proper. Before I heard this CD and The Portable Kate Campbell, I had never heard her music. Some close friends recommended this singer-songwriter a few weeks ago, so I was glad to snag copies of these albums. As noted in the liner notes, Campbell is originally from the region of the Mississippi Delta. The inherent imagery of this upbringing is quite apparent in her songs. She sings with more than a little hint of a Southern accent, and her voice reminds me, in small part, of Lucinda Williams and – in no small part – of Texas legend Nanci Griffith. Kate’s writing style is specifically reminiscent of Griffith’s material in incorporating into her music local and regional imagery. Those are no small comparisons, and by extension, are compliments. A talented writer who seems to effortlessly capture the sights and sounds in the stories she tells, it becomes clearly evident to the listener that Campbell describes what she observes in beautiful detail. [Chris Barlow, The Phantom Tollbooth, September 14, 2004]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/songs-from-the-levee/320247245)

CD tracklist:

01. Mississippi And Me – 4:18
02. Lanterns On The Leevee – 4:06
03. Wild Iris – 3:12
04. Like A Buffalo – 3:19
05. Locust Years – 3:00
06. A Cotton Field Away – 4:42
07. Jerusalem Inn – 3:13
08. Trains Don’t Run From Nashville – 3:51
09. South Of Everything – 4:02
10. Bury Me In Bluegrass – 3:55

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Compass Records.

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