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Atlas Shoulders a Disc Friday Night, Nancy Atlas returned exhausted from the wastes of
Jersey with what, barring childbirth, was the most precious delivery of her
life : 2,000 copies of her latest Cd "Matador". She didn't want to trust them to some gorilla in shipping, so
she fetched the load herself in her heap of a 1991 extended Dodge van with
the 156,000 miles on it, fighting the loose steering, anticipating braking
well in advance, proud in it's sickly green glory. She thanks "Large Marge" in the liner notes, even
before the extra day of duty, and used her all weekend to make drops around
the South Fork. "We'll go through all those CD's," Ms. Atlas said
huskily Saturday morning at 9am - awfully early for a rocker. "That's
the good thing. We're doing alot of promotion," including, Saturday
Night at 9pm a release party at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, at which
$25 gets you a show and a disc. "The production level has been raised and the writing is
better," she said of "Matador". "To me, it's always been
about the writing... Every song had thought and love puti into it. It's been
four years since the last album, so we could put some time into it. These
songs come out of experience, not pressure." She and the other members of The Nancy Atlas Project - Johnny
Blood, Neil Surreal, Richard Rosch and Brett King- spent six months recording
the album at Sound on Sound Studios in New York City. Cynthia Daniels was the
co-producer. "She's the head engineer there," Ms. Atlas said.
"She works with Chaka Khan and full orchestras, and she engineered 'The
Producers' album," for which she won a Grammy Award. "It was an amazing experience to be in a studio where
they'd normally work on a million dollar album." "The style is still Americana, but we started the ablum
with more of a rock tilt, which may surprise a few people," Ms. Atlas
said, referring to the funked-up opener, "Love Is Suicide." The 12 tracks on "Matador" are varied: "It's got
rock, pop, alt-country, but at the end of it, it's an experience, not like
these slick, overproduced albums. It's not that it's not cohesive, but this
album doesn't have it's arm out, if you know what I mean. It has bend." The artistic curve emcompasses "Good Day," the piano
plunking pop tune she spoke of, which is bouncy enough to have been penned by
a young McCartney who never met Lennon, as well as bluesy, Dr. John-like
roadhouse boogie ("Curse and a Blessing") and no shortage of
chuffing country ballads. In one of her harder country numbers, "Tequila
Sheila", Ms. Atlas ventures into comedy. It's about a drinkin,
fornicatin' product of America's rural proletariat who leaves men limp and
whimpering as she drives off in their pick-up trucks. "She's the flesh
of the cherry, she's the pit." You can kiss her Grits, among other
things, because "She's a ho, ho, ho, ho, homewrecker." Fans of her live local shows will recognize two tunes that
aren't so new, "American Girl" and "Talkhouse Song," but
Ms. Atlas was quick to point out that the two tracks that she's most proud
of: "Lost Highway" and "Miscalculations". "The strongest writing is in the slower stuff," she
said. As is the best singing, because she restrains her big, brassy voice
adding earthy feeling to it's natural rasp. "'Miscalculations' has Cynthia all over it. I can't take
credit." The subtly bittersweet breakup ballad is also, unfortunately,
the only song on "Matador" that makes use of Helen Hooke's country
fiddle. Its mournful scraping helps you find that odd spot in your chest
where you take comfort form someone elses hard times. " 'Cause nothings
turning out the way I planned," the singer complains - twice. "Lost Higway" laments, Kris Kristofferson style, the
troubles that come with having all the freedom in the world. Romantic trouble
in particular. " I went beyond the backroads of my memory/ Where I
wouldn't feel the pain/ From the choices I've had to make...." It's a lonesome ramble of a song, and a beauty. |