Kitty Rose
Kitty Rose: Live At The Ryman 1 April 1972
Wild Affair Productions
For some music industry reason, it took 35 years to find, clean up, and release this wonderful old-school country show from an obscure talent who should have made it big. There’s a story in the press kit about someone spilling a bourbon and Coke on the master tapes, but that could only improve the sound of a REAL country session. Kitty Rose (Katherine Chase in real life) has a big female voice similar to Patsy Cline’s and a rollicking country sound that speaks more to ranching than romance. The wreckage of failed relations isn’t a big part of her style, her regard of men never as close as her love of horses.
Opening number “(I Ain’t No) Pretty Little Thing” sounds like the perfect 1960s country song – self-deprecating, personal, and danceable if all you can muster is a sedate foxtrot. “Ira’s Song (All my Horses are in Heaven)” is touchingly romantic, a bit teary, but the sort of sad song that always feels good when they’re trying to kick you out, but you can still afford one more long-neck. “Easy Keeper” and “Bucking Hay” are a pair of country work songs, and the penultimate cut “Trouble” brings the bonhomie of a barn dance to the CD.
While Miss Rose has the country sound down solid, she spent much of her career in other genres, and then retreated to rural California to live the life she sang about. She carries an amazing tune, and for a live recording, this sounds studio clean and CD perfect.
Kitty Rose: http://www.kittyrose.com
