There is no doubt in my mind that ‘The Magnolia Sessions’ series of albums are one of the most essential, vibrant, and so damn enjoyable releases out there. The concept is very simple, in that a performer is recorded under the magnolia tree at Anti-Corporate Music/Black Matter Mastering headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. The cicadas add their own harmonies to the music, where the performer does not have the opportunity to go back and “fix” anything. It is the exact opposite of the highly compressed and over-produced music we come across within the more popular forms, as here we have a singer standing up and baring themselves with no armour to protect them.

For this session we have Cristina Vane, sometimes accompanying herself on guitar and at others on banjo, carrying on the tradition of the troubadour, sharing her wares as she travels from town to town. Apparently, this was recorded on a rainy and awful night, but one would not guess that as she sounds composed and totally into the performance. Apparently, Cristina reached back into her history to bring forward songs which she no longer performs, bringing together a collection which she felt would be more suited to an outdoors intimate solo performance where there is no opportunity to “meddle” (her word) with the final product.

Cristina is full of life, with a voice packed with passion and emotion, real and honest, so removed from the plastic pop singers as to almost be from a different species altogether. There is power, there is life (although yet again we hear a gun shot, this time as she is talking about having to write a love song), and her use of a steel guitar is both delicate and forceful, as at times it feels she is demanding the chords as opposed to just gently playing them. This is my first time coming across her, but I already know I need to discover more, as I love her voice and songs. If you like alt country, bluegrass, hillbilly, or just great performances, then this is series is essential, and yet again we have a release which is an absolute delight from beginning to end.

Rating: 9/10

Links:
https://www.cristinavane.com
https://anticorporatemusic.com