CD Review: Blue Ridge Dreams - Kay Wilder
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||
|
universe shining thru each of us, as we attempt to seek truth and joy in this lifetime. Imagine the possibilities for all of us. They are joyous!" - Kay Wilder
Kay Wilder is a great up-and-coming artist from the "Sunshine State" of Florida. Her music is a refreshing mix of bluegrass, swing, blues, rock and country. "Blue Ridge Dream," the upbeat title cut, is my favorite song from the album. It is the story of something that is rare these days - a family that is together, happy and not afraid to say they love each other. "Sharon" is a tribute to one of Kay Wilder's friends who died in a tragic accident leaving behind a husband and young son. A portion of the proceeds from each "Blue Ridge Dream" album sold is put into the Phyllis Ann Hines Weatherman Scholarship and given to a college bound music major from Blue Ridge Virginia. "Cat Bird's Kitten" is another of my favorite songs from the album. It's an upbeat bluesy tune that has several meanings. "Cattin' Around" could mean out on the town, possibly foolin' around, but not necessarily. It is more at teasing and intimating a falsehood as a truth. To be a Cat Bird is to be someone who has been accused of "Cattin' Around." To be a Cat Bird's kitten is to be a chip off the old block "Rodeo Blues" is a salute to the cowboys of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. No one works harder then these guys. "Buford" is Kay Wilder's salute to a well-known D.J from her home area named Buford Kegley. He has been the morning show host on station WBRF-FM out of Galax, Virginia for the past 32 years. "I Remember" is a an upbeat 50's style rock and roll song in which Kay sings about things from the good old' days. James Dean, milk shakes, roller rinks, hula-hoops, getting your first kiss and then getting your heart broke. I love songs like these! "Silver Ladies" is a good old truck drivin' tune. I miss songs like this that were so popular in the 1970s. I love the food references in this song and how some things are called by different names depending on what part of the country you are in. For examples pancakes/hot cakes/ flapjacks. As someone who has moved around this country... I can confess that I had never heard of grits until I moved south. And sodas will always be pop to me. "Cheap Date" is AWESOME! It details what father's used tell their daughters about how to act, dress, and the importance of catching a husband. Then it switches it to the mother's perspective. Be independent, take care of yourself, you don't need a man to take care of you. Then at the end the daughter is mulling over what she has been taught, and in a tongue in cheek way thanks her dad and mom for their advice, and decides that she is going to find her a man to cook, clean, and take care of her the way that women were always expected to take care of their men. I love Kay Wilder's CD. It's refreshingly different and very cool. I can hardly wait to hear more from her. Her music really means something. It's not just a song for the sake of a song. Her songs are full of historic references and the mentioning of people that she has known. In this era we live in of musical fluff and singers that are essentially clones of one another, Kay and her music are neither one. Song List
Audio clips courtesy of Kay Wilder's Official Website
| |||||||||
