PRESLEY. Rich blend of smoky and soulful tunes.
IT can’t be easy to be Elvis Presley’s only child, or Michael Jackson’s ex wife—or both. For much of her life, Lisa Marie Presley has been living in the huge shadows of the King of Rock ‘n Roll and the King of Pop—so, finding her own place in the musical sun hasn’t been easy.
Lisa Marie’s eager-to-please albums, 2003’s “To Whom It May Concern” and “Now What,” were polished but tonally sterile pop confections that drowned out her raw, bluesy sensibility. Her music was overshadowed further by her tabloid-fodder romantic persuasions: She married Jackson 20 days after divorcing her first husband, Danny Keough—and her marriage to third husband, Nicolas Cage, lasted for only 108 days!
We’re happy to note that, with the help of Oscar- and Grammy-winning producer, T-Bone Burnett, Presley has finally found her niche with her third collection, “Storm & Grace”—a rich blend of smoky, spooky and soulful tunes that fuse blues, folk and countrified pop.
You’ll find the instrumental dexterity (and complex chord shifts) of the string-backed “Forgiving” and the bass-embellished “So Long” particularly engaging, because of their unique bluegrass swagger.
“You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” the moody carrier single that premiered on “American Idol” recently, sounds like a sexy dare, while the meditative “How Do You Fly This Plane?” is an irresistible ballad with seminal undercurrents.
Equally noteworthy are “Over Me,” “Weary,” “Un-Break’ and the reggaefied country tune, “Storm of Nails”—the perfect songs to keep you company when the witching hour kicks in!