Full of surprises from start to finish

If it wasn't for "The Hollow Of Morning" by Gemma Hayes", the candidate for my favourite album purchased during 2008 might well be Eilen Jewell's "Letters From Sinners And Strangers" which was released the year before. Whilst it was firmly on my radar since it was originally put out, I never actually got around to buying the CD until I saw Eilen and her band play at The Band Room in the midst of rural North Yorkshire back in August last year. To say I was blown away by their performance that night would be a major understatement - I had to have the album there and then and also bought her debut album "Boundary County" at the same time.

Some artists are described as going back to their roots when they release a new album - Eilen has literally grasped her musical roots with both hands and won't let go. Listen to this CD and you're immediately transported back to a time when there were Reds under the bed, James Dean was the pin-up of choice, the space race hadn't got truly started, "I Love Lucy" dominated the TV schedule and cars sported huge "aerodynamic" fins plus lots of chrome - yet many of the songs on the CD are completely brand-new. There's a rocking, rolling mash-up of folk, country, bluegrass and pop here that bewilders, delights and charms in equal measure. Whilst it might evoke the fifties in many ways, this album demonstrates just how Eilen and her band have managed to infuse a contemporary slant into songs that wouldn't otherwise seem out of place in the "Hit Parade" of fifty years ago. There's a timelessness, a simplicity and a great deal of excellent musicianship displayed on this CD, a band at the top of their game. A few artists seem to have this way of taking original songs and giving them an old-time twist, whilst still retaining their contemporary appeal, down to a fine art - Gillian Welch and Madeline Peyroux spring to mind - add Eilen Jewell's name to that list.

"Well they'll get you for rambling, they'll throw you in the bin, acting like rambling now is some kind of sin" - the CD literally bolts out of the blocks with the rousing "Rich Man's World", an original though traditional-sounding romp complete with Bob Dylan-inspired harmonica and drum-laced intro. There's a familiarity on show here that urges you to stop what you're doing and listen, hints of traditional folk songs being imitated, re-used and re-shaped into this new whole. The intricate percussion and persuasive upright bass inspire confidence from the second the song starts, the guitars keeping way in the background throughout. Romp? It's a pure old-fashioned and ultra-enjoyable stomp, with Eilen's sultry but smooth, rich yet accessible soprano jockeying for top billing along with her two harmonica solos towards the end. The production on this song is so damned good that it sounds as though that it didn't come within a thousand miles of a producer - one of those performances that you'd otherwise believe could only be achieved live. If you're not either trying to sing along with it or tapping an appendage to the hypnotic beat by the end of "Rich Man's World", then you might want to check to see if you still have a pulse. Dismiss this as alt-country music at your peril - it's a retro-sounding, absolutely jumping rockabilly number and totally unashamed of it, what a ride!

"A hollow log, a hollow log, sleeping in a hollow log" - "High Shelf Booze" is probably my favourite song among this cracking selection of tunes. What sets it apart from the others (and you could just barely slide a credit card through the differences) is two-fold - namely guest musician Alec Spiegelman's delicious clarinet work throughout, combined with Eilen's gorgeous, bluesy yet equally restrained vocals. The song caresses the ears rather than assaults them, a jaunty little affair that brings a smile to my face and taunts me until I start singing along with it. The clarinet is simply superb - there's no other way to describe it, seeing how it sets the scene immediately in the intro then goes on to underpin the song during its crucial moments. There's no doubt a nod or two to one of Eilen's influences, namely Billie Holiday, in her delivery - someone I can also relate to since I've enjoyed listening to the latter's music on occasions since my teens (I've never particularly followed the crowd in terms of what I want to hear!). Whilst there's plenty going on here with the clarinet, percussion and Eilen upfront, it scores by not trying to pack everything in together - the musicians are given plenty of room to shine individually, and you're able to appreciate their efforts rather than try to separate the wheat from the chaff. I didn't need any excuse to play this song again whilst writing this review - the things I do for the sake of others!

"So pour me a round at the bar, and turn up that steel guitar" - forget Patsy Cline, "Heartache Boulevard" could feature in one of those Doris Day musicals set in the 1950s yet that's only really true of the way that Eilen changes pitch and lifts herself out of the choruses each time. No, this is really a straight-forward bouncy and extremely enjoyable red-hot swing piece, one that motors through its two minutes and thirty-five seconds, driven along using Jerry's insistent guitar and Daniel's provocative violin, the latter whimsical and strutting but never threatening to steal the show from Eilen's deftly-delivered vocals, whilst Johnny even gets his ten seconds of fame with a wonderful demonstration of the upright bass. It's another song where the constituent elements get their own little sections to grab centre-stage - and there's still time to gel together when the arrangement demands. Despite the upbeat arrangement, the lyrics deal with loss, heartbreak and drowning your sorrows - by now typical fare for Eilen's originals.

The CD is presented in a three-part gatefold digi-pack format which doesn't unfortunately include the lyrics (although they are available through the Internet). There are some fairly evocative photos of the mid-West contained on this, though Eilen managed to scrawl all over the cover photo of my CD with a huge message to me following her gig in North Yorkshire - usually you get an unreadable squiggle from an artist but she's almost provided a poem! Maybe she didn't like her own picture!