Alysha Brooke - I Talk Country
By: George Peden, CSO Staff Journalist
You’ve got to admire determination. It’s the quality that shapes, drives, and eventually decides the path you’re going to follow. Meet Alysha Brooke. She’s one single-minded young Canadian. Born into a family with six sisters, you suspect the gene pool was a shaping factor. But there are some things you have to find on your own. Like music. Brooke ventured along the worn path of finding country music in her formative years – school plays and dance competitions channeled the passion for performing and singing.
Then with role models like Reba, Shania and Patsy, and the experience of her first album in 2004 -- a self-funded effort that carried six songs -- Brooke is now moving forward with her first full album release. Titled I Talk Country, the album is a blend of pop, country and ballads. Out on Cedar Trail Music, the 12 tracks, of which Brooke wrote four, showcase the talents of a young singer who’s only been seriously chasing a music career for two years.
Apart from Brooke’s writing contribution, the album’s remaining tunes all come from album co-producer and musician Mike Belobradic. Variety is the spice of life. It’s hard for independent artists often to source material, but too much of the same leads to too much of the same. Recent news suggests Brooke has cut loose from her label, citing the common musical cliché of "artistic differences", so it’s expected on her next outing, planned for a November recording, the tunes will be from a wider net. Brooke plans on contributing some self-written songs to the CD.
But for now, it’s the music of the moment. "I Talk Country" opens the set. Brook cuts loose on the fiddle-rich and drum-pounded rocker telling that twang and slang are the definers for a girl who gets her best education from country radio. "Country Bumpkin Blues" side saddles with a different locale but a similar message. "I Don’t Drink (But I’m Gonna Get Drunk Tonight)" is a tear-in-your-beer-my boyfriend-shot-through-with-my-girlfriend-type of toe-tapper. It’s an interesting inclusion, given the climate of being politically correct, as the tune offers the answer to a broken heart is to have another shot… followed by another. Mmmm… considering our hero of the song doesn’t drink, the answer might have been counseling, as one of the lines tells: "By 1.00am my head’s spinning, I couldn’t even tell where I was sittin’…" a sad and tragic reality many young women with heavy hearts and too many drinks downed live out on any Saturday night. Other tracks of interest include "Cheated" and the layered "When It Rains" and the radio-possibility, "My Cowboy".
Alysha Brooke is a developing artist. She tells us she has a new vocal coach; she’s planning a new record and she’s split with her current label; she’s also looking to engage more as a songwriter. They’re all career refinements that for this young Canadian, who talks country, prove she’s one who’s willing to walk the walk as well.
1: I Talk Country
2: Country Bumpkin Blues
3: I Don’t Drink (But I’m Gonna Get Drunk Tonight)
4: Haunted
5: Peaceful Nights
6: Cheated7: If He Leaves Me
8: Tree house
9: When It Rains
10: Unspoken
11: My Cowboy
12: Babe I Want You BackRelated Links:
Official Site
MySpace
You’ve got to admire determination. It’s the quality that shapes, drives, and eventually decides the path you’re going to follow. Meet Alysha Brooke. She’s one single-minded young Canadian. Born into a family with six sisters, you suspect the gene pool was a shaping factor. But there are some things you have to find on your own. Like music. Brooke ventured along the worn path of finding country music in her formative years – school plays and dance competitions channeled the passion for performing and singing.
Then with role models like Reba, Shania and Patsy, and the experience of her first album in 2004 -- a self-funded effort that carried six songs -- Brooke is now moving forward with her first full album release. Titled I Talk Country, the album is a blend of pop, country and ballads. Out on Cedar Trail Music, the 12 tracks, of which Brooke wrote four, showcase the talents of a young singer who’s only been seriously chasing a music career for two years.
Apart from Brooke’s writing contribution, the album’s remaining tunes all come from album co-producer and musician Mike Belobradic. Variety is the spice of life. It’s hard for independent artists often to source material, but too much of the same leads to too much of the same. Recent news suggests Brooke has cut loose from her label, citing the common musical cliché of "artistic differences", so it’s expected on her next outing, planned for a November recording, the tunes will be from a wider net. Brooke plans on contributing some self-written songs to the CD.
But for now, it’s the music of the moment. "I Talk Country" opens the set. Brook cuts loose on the fiddle-rich and drum-pounded rocker telling that twang and slang are the definers for a girl who gets her best education from country radio. "Country Bumpkin Blues" side saddles with a different locale but a similar message. "I Don’t Drink (But I’m Gonna Get Drunk Tonight)" is a tear-in-your-beer-my boyfriend-shot-through-with-my-girlfriend-type of toe-tapper. It’s an interesting inclusion, given the climate of being politically correct, as the tune offers the answer to a broken heart is to have another shot… followed by another. Mmmm… considering our hero of the song doesn’t drink, the answer might have been counseling, as one of the lines tells: "By 1.00am my head’s spinning, I couldn’t even tell where I was sittin’…" a sad and tragic reality many young women with heavy hearts and too many drinks downed live out on any Saturday night. Other tracks of interest include "Cheated" and the layered "When It Rains" and the radio-possibility, "My Cowboy".
Alysha Brooke is a developing artist. She tells us she has a new vocal coach; she’s planning a new record and she’s split with her current label; she’s also looking to engage more as a songwriter. They’re all career refinements that for this young Canadian, who talks country, prove she’s one who’s willing to walk the walk as well.
1: I Talk Country
2: Country Bumpkin Blues
3: I Don’t Drink (But I’m Gonna Get Drunk Tonight)
4: Haunted
5: Peaceful Nights
6: Cheated7: If He Leaves Me
8: Tree house
9: When It Rains
10: Unspoken
11: My Cowboy
12: Babe I Want You BackRelated Links:
Official Site
MySpace