Kelley McRae reviewed
Kelley McRae
Never Be
(Sonablast!)
Skinny white chick makes country soul gold.
Dazzling with gospel harmonies on “Break Us” or gently shaking her hips on the sultry “Nothin’ To Lose,” Kelley McRae’s debut is an amazingly versatile soul collection. Somewhere along the line Nikka Costa and Joss Stone were allowed to set a (poor) standard for those brave enough to stroll across the color barrier, laying waste to the idiom as if it were theirs to destroy. McRae isn’t bashful either, but she doesn’t pitch herself as more than a coffeehouse staple. Even though produced by JD Foster (Laura Cantrell, Calexico), those semi-bland numbers are populous on Never Be (“Stone Cold Sober,” “Georgia”), keeping it from five-star status, though the warmth of opener “Time” and breezy “Morning Song” declare McRae is no fluke.
— Steve Forstneger
