Colter 45
Jessi Colter
Out Of The Ashes
(Shout! Factory)
Waylon’s widow emerges 22 years from her last effort, providing a duet with her late husband.
Even when Colter was actively recording, she had that dusty, desert rose touch to her, a spiritual companion to Lucinda Williams before there was a market for the niche. Friendship, much less marriage probably resulted in some scrapes with her self-styled outlaw beau, and her feistiness came to the fore in their duets. Colter’s musical disappearance in the ’80s led many to believe she was a mere product of the brand, however.
Ashes is almost entirely written by Colter, and while it hitches its wagon to some familiar gospel/country imagery, the old Colter remains. No one will mistake her approximated notes in “The Phoenix Rises” for Tammy Wynette’s glow, and there’s little gloss framing her as country royalty. “Out Of The Rain,” which features an old vocal by Jennings, delicately balances his vocal contribution by not deifying him, but adding subtle religious overtones. “Velvet Steel” is post modern honky tonk and a duet with son Shooter Jennings pulls the cotton-field blues out of them both. Better late than never.
— Steve Forstneger
