Western Ballad

iTunes Review

Working with producer Mark Bingham, who co-writes the material here, Shannon McNally creates an effective song cycle that reflects her New Orleans experience. The title track is based on an Allen Ginsberg poem and the famous Beat writer further informs McNally’s sensibility as the album is driven by openness and a celebration of individual American freedom that can’t be denied. These are songs birthed in the roots of Americana that feature spirited pianos (“True Possession”) and elegiac tributes (“Rock and Roll Angels”). They are as timeless as they are rooted in a folklore that effortlessly includes McNally. The traditional, “Little Stream of Whiskey,” is a juke-joint natural. “Thunderhead” is a perfectly executed tune with a beautiful behind-the-beat groove. “Toast” sweats out a Southern R&B. “Tristesse oubilée” throws together a Cajun waltz. Elements of a dream-like folk round off the edges with “Memory of a Ghost,” “High” and “In My Own Second Line,” where the sky looks as endless and mysterious as ever.