Glenna Bell: Press

A concept record of sorts, Texan songwriter Glenna Bell’s Perfectly Legal is presented in four “acts,” (divided by recording session and overall sound) with a common theme of, as the subtitle suggests, gothic shenanigans in the old South. The album opens with her take on the old stand-by “Frankie and Johnny” rendered as an intriguing hybrid of boogie-woogie and folk, followed by a haunting a capella version of Sam Cooke’s “Lost and Lookin’” that is all bare emotion and tremulous voice. Bell’s fiery originals round out the album and are given simple country-folk settings that capture her live sound well. Bell’s voice is pure barrel-proof bourbon, sweet and smoky, capable of hushed drama (“Hurricane”) and more ringing tones as well. She flashes girlish, Dolly Parton charm on “Honky Tonk Man,” a duet with John Evans, and rockabilly grit on “Big Kev.” Bell clearly has a sense of humor but doesn’t let it tip over into novelty. Case in point, the feisty “Cougar Anthem”: with its mischievous call-and-response chorus and cheerfully leering lyrics, it could be mistaken for a topical joke, but there’s no mistaking the pride in Bell’s voice when she says, “I’ve got my own money, and I’ve got my own car.” Fans of classic country music will find much to appreciate here.

It may be tempting to dub Glenna Bell the distaff Terry Allen -- after all, she is a Texan country-folk singer/songwriter with a wry, satirical bent who has also worked in theater -- but that comparison would be too easy, and not entirely accurate. While Allen is a songsmith who happened to wander into theatrical work, Bell's trajectory seems to have been the opposite; though she's released a number of albums, she has a past as a playwright and a theater critic, which seems to inform her songwriting sensibility (this release is, after all, dedicated to "my mentor, Edward Albee"). Toward that end, she has framed sections of Perfectly Legal as "Acts." As is so often the case with concept albums, the thematic arc means as much or as little as you want it to mean. Ultimately, what matters is how well the songs themselves stand up, and the covers and original tunes contained here hold their own just fine. At eight songs clocking in under a half hour, Perfectly Legal pushes the technical definition of an "album," as opposed to an EP, but the dramatic arc to which it aspires has "full-length" written all over it nevertheless. In the course of that arc, listeners get Bell's versions of such tunes as the traditional "Frankie and Johnny" and the old Sam Cooke cut "Lost and Lookin'," delivered in a dusty, evocative tone that brings Rosalie Sorrels to mind. The Texan's own tunes range from the rolling, atmospheric "Hurricane"'s tale of a stormy romance to the stark storytelling of "The Southern Gothic Wedding Waltz" and the lighthearted, randy "The Cougar Anthem."

Glenna Bell is Texas born, bred, and educated. She grew-up in the small Texas towns of Lumberton and Pineland before receiving a master’s degree from Texas A&M University. A couple of stops in Venice, California as a theater critic and playwright and then a doctorate in creative writing from The University of Houston's exclusive Writing Program formed the foundation for her career in music.

She is now firmly entrenched as a singer/songwriter who has just released her latest album Perfectly Legal: Songs Of Sex, Love and Murder. She possesses a classic country voice and her lyrics of anguish, loss, and the dark side of life is traditional country as well. It is her simple and stripped down arrangements that push her sound in a folk direction.

It is her theater and writing background that is important for this release. She explores the life and experiences of a woman living in the 21st century. She divides the album into four sections with each part having been recorded at different studios with different musicians which gives them their own personality.

The best songs of the first act is a barrelhouse cover of the old standard “Frankie and Johnny” which fits the title and themes of this album well and a simple version of the Sam Cooke classic “Lost and Lookin.” Act two features a tender duet on the Clint Eastwood movie theme song, “Honky Tonk Man.” The lyrics just make you ache as happiness is always just a note away. Act three presents her own “The Southern Gothic Wedding Waltz” and the title says a lot. She fills in the sound a bit with a second guitarist and some keyboards. The final track from act four is another of her compositions. “The Cougar Anthem” is an up-tempo and amusing beat driven tune that stands out as a nice counterpoint to the rest of her material.

Perfectly Legal: Songs Of Sex, Love and Murder is a gentle and thoughtful album built around eternal themes. Songs of the heart and mind explore the light and darkness of human life. A fine effort from deep in the heart of Texas.

This song [These Days] tells the story of a girl, "very long ago, in a fairy book world" and a man she holds a dream-like affection for, always admiring him from afar. The girl in the song "believed in dreams" so the man visited her there, but never in reality. And the girl waits. Waits for years.

In our interview with Glenna Bell, she revealed that the song was written about her aunt, a woman who inspired Glenna with stories of her life, with her powerful voice and music. After 81 years of life, Glenna's aunt passed away, and tucked into the folds of her purse was a black and white photo of a lover lost long, long ago. Glenna was moved by her aunt's unending affection for this man and her quiet longing. "These Days" was written for her aunt and her grief.

It was in the wake of her aunt's death that Glenna Bell turned to music to navigate the world of sadness that the loss had created in the Golden Triangle of East Texas where both women were born. "These Days" is an understated track on Glenna's album Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder, yet cuts right to the heart. The empathy the song is sung with, the rich tones of sadness and the love evident in every careful phrasing makes this song a particularly special listening experience for anyone who ever missed someone.

USA Today named "The Cougar Anthem" a top ten pick of the week on November 8, 2010, alongside songs by Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Aaron Neville, Dave Brubeck, Meatloaf, and others: “‘He's 19 years old and hot hot hot’ and makes this of-a-certain-age Texas blues/country singer pine for an upgrade.’”

It’s Sunday night in New York City, early December, and between the usual holiday festivities and the general pre-workweek malaise that tend to sap the populace’s energy, it’s not the best evening to be making your Gotham debut. But on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side, the Living Room, one of the city’s finest singer-songwriter showcase venues, the room is about half full. If it’s Monday through Saturday, it’s half empty; but on Sunday night, it’s half full. That’s pretty good for an impressive singer-songwriter with a country bent whose fourth album, the provocatively titled Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder, is newly released, but who is virtually unknown in these parts. Her band is not a touring band, but rather a trio (guitar/dobro, bass and drums) assembled by bassist Jeff Eyerich—who is well known and well respected in these parts for his various associations with interesting bands such as Dave’s True Story—and some the folks on hand are doubtless of the FOB (Friends Of the Band) variety. Still, there have to be others drawn here by having heard Glenna Bell’s stark, dramatic tales of the search for love in all its manifestations, and now want to see the artist who created such a striking body of work.

Read more at http://www.thebluegrassspecial.com/archive/2011/jan2011/glenna-bell-perfectly-legal.php

Glenna Bell seems to have stepped out of another time. Her resonant voice and thoughtful, nuanced words lend her music a refreshing, yet timeless quality that few alt country performers can boast these days. With her roots planted firmly in the rural Texas locale that gave us George Jones and Janis Joplin, she told us how she connects with some classic American folk songs while trying to write a few of her own.

This former rodeo gal turned academic, studied at Texas A&M University, and at the University of Houston, where Edward Albee taught her to write plays. Her 2010 album is called Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder.

Read more at http://www.songfacts.com/blog/writing/glenna_bell/

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 . . .

Slightly sketchy ZZ Top fan unleashes her folkie chains ("Outside the Bars," "The Texas Aggies Win Again"). [Note: Mr. Christgau gave The Road Less Traveled three stars, which--in his own words--means that the album is "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."]

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.

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.

This is not your ordinary country record. The Road Less Traveled is not quite your ordinary anything. It's not that Glenna Bell has invented a new genre of music or anything of the sort, it's just that she's found a startling original way of making the familiar -- heart songs and life-as-lived narratives, long the stuff of the country tradition -- sound almost as if she'd invented them. There is a genre called country-folk, probably as good a characterization as any of what's going on here. Typically, country-folk singers are folk artists who are comfortable around country. Bell, on the other hand, is a country singer who knows something about folk. The folk in these (metaphorical) grooves is the peculiarly skeletal production, not at all like what's called "traditional country," which is very much a band sound with prominent fiddle or steel (or both) and electric lead guitar. Bell's acoustic guitar, sometimes with minimal accompaniment, is prominent on just about all of the cuts. Here and there a small ensemble joins her but never comports itself quite predictably. Then there are Bell's clipped, brittle vocals, likely the first thing you'll notice -- as I certainly did -- on hearing this disc. Hers is one distinctive voice. It is nearly always effective, but never more so than on the shatteringly personal "The Texas Aggies Win Again," so raw and wounded that it may make you gasp. It's, well, incredible, everything a song can aspire to be. Her aching ballad of lost dreams, "The East Side," appears twice, once in a duet with Texas honkytonk hero Johnny Bush, the second time with John Evans. Somehow, each version finds its own personality, even if subtly so . . . A resident of Houston, Bell is not in fact a honkytonk girl but a writing teacher with a graduate degree in English. Clearly, she knows how to put together an exceptionally fine song, and she also knows how to deliver it with grace, power and humor, all of it direct, unadorned and blunt. The emotions are laid as bare as emotions can be laid in a song. The Road Less Traveled is one highway no discerning musical wayfarer will mind passing down.

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.

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.

The album, Face This World (http://cdbaby.com/cd/glennabell) by singer-songwriter Glenna Bell, was one of the musical highpoints of 2005 in my modest opinion--a masterpiece, which almost got my number one spot in my personal top 25. Richard Stooksbury's debut album beat her, but she was in the respectable company of Sam Baker, Jimmy Lafave, and Colin Brooks. It is a bit of a pity that the subsequent album, The Road Less Traveled, took such a long time (strike the iron while it is hot) because this pretty lady from Beaumont, Texas was in the neighborhood of Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, and Mary Gauthier and will need some luck to regain her place again. But will she succeed with The Road Less Traveled?... We believe so! "Never change a winning team" is also a saying that works well for Glenna Bell because the perfect collaboration with producer & multi-instrumentalist John Evans (vocals, guitar, piano, electric bass) was renewed on the opening track "Outside the Bars," and on the magnificent duet "The East Side" with Texas Country Music Hall of Fame member Johnny Bush, as well as "The Texas Aggies Win Again" and "La Casa Qua Yo Amo." The sober acoustic accompaniment (guitar, bass, and drums), which was so characteristic on Face This World, also goes very well with the folky/americana/roots voice of our Glenna and lifts The Road Less Traveled high. Glenna's cover of Willie Nelson's "The Family Bible on the Table" could be considered as a (nice) leftover from "the influences of a cappella songs in the local church" where she grew up. But all of this gives way (to our surprise) to a somewhat more lively Glenna Bell on "Can't Get My Mind Off You," and on Glenna's cover of J. Cash's classic duet "Jackson" [with John Evans]. She is even a bit naughty and funny with "How I Found Out I'm Insane" and "Shiner Bock & ZZ Top." Little girls grow big, throw away what they were once taught, and feel more and more at home in the musical scene . . . the result is amazing! The appeal on "Be My Valentine on Chistmas" will create some overheated situations in Texas. We will stay calm in "Limburg" and enjoy fully the pearl which is Glenna Bell's The Road Less Traveled. Good Luck, Glenna . . . You did it again!!!!! SWA, http://www.rootsville.be

Christmas Eve will be here before you know it. So I'm giving you all a heads-up on what's new from Music City for your holiday soundtrack. These records are mainly from our country community. GLENNA BELL/Be My Valentine On Christmas Writer: Glenna Bell; Producer: John Evans; Publisher: Glenna Bell, ASCAP; Vintage Sound (www.glennabell.com) Her vocal vibrato is a mile wide, but there's no escaping the audio charm of this simple, affecting song and its sweet, tinkling, acoustic instrumental bed. Recorded in Houston by a producer who seems to understand exactly how to play to Glenna's musical strengths.

There’s a cry in Glenna Bell’s voice like that of a classic country singer. Her songs cover classic country topics, too – from heartbreak to other hard life trials. Standouts include “Here in Texas,” an upbeat anthem with a nice, fat electric guitar and “Cosmo’s Café,” a toe tapping number with washboard and banjo. -JA

Face This World,” by Glenna Bell (Self)—She has the clipped vocal delivery of Janis Joplin without the blues and a Natalie Merchant quirkiness without Natalie’s I-Just-Bought-This-At-Starbucks snob appeal. Glenna Bell is a Texan who is one or two great songs, one or two lucky breaks from breaking out into the AAA radio format in a big way (she’s too rootsy for mainstream country). Her singing is heartfelt and distinctive (though on certain cuts she’s dead-on Janis) and the songs on “Face This World” worth recording.

Traditional country is still alive and well in Texas. That is apparent from the resurgence of real country music developed here, halting lyrics that punctuate each and every line from the CD of Glenna Bell, Face This World. The Houston coalition production of John Evans and support of an emerging true roots revival make this CD a joy. For fans of Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette to the neo-traditionalists that wish to have a sparingly beautiful album that transforms you back to 1953. Forget the poodle skirt, this music takes you back to the honky-tonk life where men ruled the music and the soft touch of a woman’s voice was at first regulated to the back of the room. Bell’s styling makes you hang on to every word. Backed by some of Houston's finest, Glenna Bell and Face This World will make you stand up and take notice of a new artist who needs to be recognized.

Music has always lived inside Glenna Bell, but it took her awhile to let her heart sing.

The Beaumont native grew up singing a cappella hymns in the Church of Christ, but beyond that, music remained a footnote throughout much of her life.

Bell quietly released an album, Nobody's Girl, on Houston's Sugar Hill Records in 1998, but that was more for herself and her friends. She wasn't sure about performing live and exposing herself to the world.

Face This World, Bell's haunting second album, is her official coming-out as a full-fledged musician. The disc was released earlier this year (also through Sugar Hill Records), and it's not only the realization of Bell's dream, but it's also a bittersweet reminder of her Aunt Cherry Mae Reese, who died in 2003 . . .

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ae/music/local/3323533.html#ixzz1OKxHxDHK

[Face This World] is a nice piece of work by a young singer/songwriter that runs in the vein of a pensive Mary Chapin-Carpenter, with two duets, “Moving On” and “Tumbling Down," with John Evans, that are almost more Ian and Sylvia than the originals. There's a minimum of backing to Bell's acoustic guitar and vocals, which are more than capable of standing on their own, thank you. When the band kicks in, as on the bluegrass flavoured “Here In Texas”, and “Cosmos Café”, it's toe-tapping time . . . Bell needs someone to toot her horn, fly her flag a bit more, as it were. She's worthy of the attention.

GLENNA BELL/Hoping I Could Be Wrong Writer: none listed; Producer: John Evans; Publisher: none listed; GB (track) (615-776-2060) —Producer Evans is the star here, crafting an absolutely killer track sporting subterranean rhythm beneath moody, echoey guitar work. Vocalist Bell gives the suspicion and doubt in the lyric just the right touch of pain and paranoia. An outstanding disc debut. Who wrote this nifty little number?

Ms. Bell's latest release has ten tracks, all her originals. Length is 36 minutes, 18 seconds. Sound quality and production are outstanding. Musicianship is top-flight throughout. The album presents a collection of brand new, old-style country/roots songs. There are no throwaway tracks. The lyrics are romantic slices of contemporary life as seen through eyes of a young woman. Her words ring with truth. The music draws on the wellspring of early Cumberland Mountains country/folk. But Ms. Bell's superlative, unique voice and her earthy presentation are the real strength of this marvelous album. Ms. Bell opens with the title cut, a gripping song of loss that inspires strength. Perhaps the best cut on the CD, the panoramic melody builds around her impassioned vocals. The up-tempo "Poor Girl" tells of a simple country girl living alone in the city and her dreams of a lifetime with a trustworthy, kind man. The spirit of Johnny Cash lives in the music. The emotional ballad "Moving On" is an excellent duet with producer/award-winning vocalist Evans. The song tells about the pain of ending a love affair. The strong drumbeat of "John" builds this powerful song of desperation to its bleak climax. My favorite slow tempo song is "March To Me," a spellbinding poem set to a haunting, minor key melody. The album closes with "Cosmos Café," my favorite up-tempo song. Banjoist Brian Thomas (Jesse Dayton Band) adds a neat flair to this pure country, happy romp. Ms. Bell's delightful high register yips are an old time country vocal technique that most singers can only dream about. Very Highest Recommendation. HINT: There's a surprise about a minute after "Cosmos Café" ends.

Face This World Glenna Bell (Sugar Hill) by SamHouston Don’t let anyone kid you. First impressions of a new album by an unfamiliar singer are important. And even one quick glance at the Face This World album cover leads a person to expect an earthy, down-home collection of songs, exactly the kind of thing that doesn’t come along too often these days. So I was afraid that the cover had probably set me up for a big let down and immediately wondered if the actual music would, or even could, live up to my expectations. There was nothing to worry about. As soon as I heard Glenna Bell’s deep, fragile vibrato on the first song, the album’s title track, I knew that she was something special. Glenna’s voice is hard to explain unless you’ve heard it for yourself because it’s a wonderful combination of strength and vulnerability, of small town Texas and big city Houston, of sadness and ironic happiness and relief. In fact, I recently had the pleasure of hearing Glenna do several of the Face This World songs live, just Glenna and her guitar, in somewhat stripped-down versions of the songs and I developed a solid appreciation for her lyrics as well as for her voice. Glenna’s vocal style was developed by singing songs in the a cappella style of her local Church of Christ, just a few miles north of Beaumont, Texas, where she lived until she was about 10 years old. Southeast Texas left its mark on Glenna in more ways than one, even helping her, in large part, to choose the Sugar Hill Studios in Houston to record her two albums because it was the birthplace of the biggest hit of another singer from the Beaumont area, the Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace.” The eleven songs on the album (ten listed and one hidden bonus track at the end) tend toward the somber side of life, and Glenna sings each of them as if they happened to her yesterday. She is joined on two of the tracks by her producer, John Evans, for the moving duets, “Moving On” and “Tumbling Down,” the first song a woman’s explanation to her lover as to why she’s leaving him after three years, and “Tumbling Down” being a more hopeful song of lost and lonely souls finding each other for support. But not all the songs are sad or speak to opportunity squandered, and the title track itself, although about a sad experience, has so much energy that its overall effect may be just the opposite for most listeners. “Cosmos Café,” about a Houston restaurant, and “Poor Girl,” a song about two poor folks coming together in love, show how effectively Glenna can use her vocal style in quicker paced songs. Face This World is for music fans who like their music with a little bit of an edge. It’s for folks who enjoy discovering those rare voices that don’t really sound like anyone else they’ve ever heard before, but do remind them of someone they know but whose name they can’t quite pull out of the hat. In Glenna’s case, she might make some think of Iris Dement, for others it might be a Mary Gauthier, or even a Janis Joplin. Who knows? All I can tell you for sure is that this album is not like the last album you listened to, no matter what that may have been. Face This World deserves to be heard. Give it a listen.

In a time when it's getting hard to tell Nashville and Austin apart, in walks Glenna Bell. It's all real, it's all original, all fresh, and all good music. An outstanding voice and one like I've never heard. Her music is folk, country, it’s cowjazz. A good cd, a great act, ladies and gentlemen this is Glenna Bell.