Glenna Bell: Home
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Glenna Bell's new album, The Road Less Traveled, has been released to radio, and through a deal with Burnside Distribution in Portland, Oregon, will be available in retail outlets across the nation in July '08. The songs were recorded at historic Sugar Hill Studios in Houston, Texas, where the Big Bopper taped "Chantilly Lace" and George Jones laid down some of his first vocal performances, not to mention the many other legends who've made their mark behind the mic's of the oldest continuously operating recording studio in Texas.
The Road Less Traveled features John Pickering of The Picks--the vocal group who recorded harmonies with Buddy Holly--as well as Texas Country Music Hall of Fame member, Johnny Bush, on Glenna's duet, "The East Side," and Herb Remington (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys) playing his steel guitar on "How I Found Out I'm Insane." Produced by Texas singer-songwriter, John Evans, who also sang two duets on the album, The Road Less Traveled is receiving critical praise:
John Shelton Ivany's "Top 21":
"Country is at its best when it's simple, melancholy; something that stares you right in the eye without beating you down with force. It's not just that Ms. Bell's voice has that quality grafted to it; she knows how to dress it down without turning it all into one big gimmick. Just the right amount of echo, on her guitar as well as her voice, with lyrics that never overreach in their scope. The thematic territory is familiar, with heartbreak at the center of it all, but it is with honesty. Aside from a few slightly more lavish moments, this is sparse music with a void as its backbone, a void which pulls us in close to Ms. Bell and imbues her words with an equal gravity. This is a quality that cannot be faked or honed, it is intimate and honest without being simplistic or dumb; this is a sort of music that I'd feared dead."
Joey Guerra, the Houston Chronicle:
"Glenna Bell's magic is her ability to wring the purest emotion from a lyric with the least possible effort. The Houston-based performer doesn't overdo her intimate tunes with flowery notes or dramatic flourishes. It's a rare thing and gives The Road Less Traveled, Bell's gorgeous new record, a poignant shimmer. Every moment has a spare, sparkling beauty."
Ron Wynn, Spin Factor--Nashville's Daily News:
"Texas singer/songwriter Glenna Bell sings with a quiet, stirring authority and edge, delivering this CD's 11 songs with such might and power that it's impossible not to be impressed by their simplicity and urgency. Bell covers many subjects such as faith and inspiration ("The Family Bible" with Willie Nelson"); heartache ("I Can't Get My Mind Off You"); sports fandom ("The Texas Aggies Win Again"); and the oddities and inherent problems in any marriage ("How I Found Out I'm Insane). She's not only a poignant and effective lead vocalist, but an outstanding duet partner (superb duets with Johnny Bush on "The East Side" and both Billy Ed Wheeler and Jerry Leiber on "Jackson"). The lack of studio polish reaffirms the grit in Bell's delivery and the quality of her interpretations and lyrical settings. The Road Less Traveled is brilliantly performed, and a triumph for a standout performer."
Mike Jurkovic, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange--FAME:
"The road less traveled, indeed. I say that simply because any number of singer/songwriters sound like some guitar wielding predecessor. Glenna Bell goes beyond a list of influences. She doesn't sound like the usual suspects—Lucinda, Gillian, Iris, Mary Gauthier, etc. She sounds older than that. Way older. Like Texas is old. The Road Less Traveled plays like an old field recording. You're listening to songs like the gritty prison ballad Outside The Bars and the mournful, yet redemptive Johnny Bush duet The East Side expecting to hear the pops and skips of old vinyl. With her arrangements raw, production back-porch sparse, and a haunting, halting vocal style, Bell fixes your attention on her songs and not the tired who-does-she-sound-like guessing game that gets in the way of a good listen far too often . . . People are listening. You should too."
Chris Spector, Midwest Records:
"Has anybody been recognized by the Texas legislature for their music since Gary P. Nunn? Bell now joins that august rank with her tunes. A real from the heart folk rocker, Bell may or may not reach the top of the charts with hit singles, but if we were still living in an album world, this would be one of the sets all the hip kids would be toting in their back packs. Coming at you with a real load of Texas in her soul, Bell delivers the kind of set that cold cocks you when you don’t expect it and just makes you want to turn everyone on to her. Killer stuff that you don’t have to be a tied in the wool folkie to love."
Francois Braeken, "Rootsville-Belgium," calls
Glenna Bell's 2005 release, Face This World, “a masterpiece,” placing her in league with “Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, and Mary Gauthier, Sam Baker, Jimmy LaFave, Colin Brooks.” He says The Road Less Traveled is no less “a pearl.”
MORE NEWS:
On May 15, 2007, State Representative Jessica Farrar and the Texas House of Representatives honored the music of Texas-born singer-songwriter Glenna Bell with the following House Resolution, which was read during a ceremony in Austin at the State Capitol on the Floor of the House. House Speaker Tom Craddick was in attendance, and personally congratulated Miss Bell for her musical contributions to the Lone Star State:
H.R. No. 1304
R E S O L U T ION
WHEREAS, A talented singer and songwriter, Beaumont native Glenna Bell is drawing attention for her stark yet beautiful songs that conjure up the heartfelt essence of traditional country music while expressing a fresh, contemporary perspective; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Bell has recorded three albums to date, Nobody's Girl, which appeared in 1998, Face This World, from 2006, and The Road Less Traveled, which is scheduled to appear in 2008; each features her haunting songs that present tales of heartache, love, and loss in a stripped down and powerful style; and
WHEREAS, Glenna Bell's music is colored by the sounds that she grew up with in East Texas: a cappella hymns sung in her family's church and old-school country music that she discovered in her relatives' record collections; with the help of veteran Texas musicians such as John Evans, who has produced Ms. Bell's last two albums, and Johnny Bush, who sings on The Road Less Traveled, Glenna Bell has distilled her influences into moving songs that are receiving airplay on country and Americana radio stations across the country; and
WHEREAS, Carrying forward the classic, unembellished style that has graced so much great music from Texas, Glenna Bell has emerged as a musician and storyteller of great promise and stands as an exciting addition to the musical tradition of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas Legislature hereby honor Glenna Bell for her musical accomplishments and extend to her best wishes for continued success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Bell as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
Farrar
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1304 was adopted by the House on April 13, 2007, by a non-record vote.
__________________________Chief Clerk of the House
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