whitney rose, ‘rule 62’

hailing from the canadian province of prince edward island, whitney’s grandparents owned a bar called union hall, and she spent much of her childhood there, singing hank williams and johnny cash songs for the customers. she still occasionally includes ‘ring of fire’ in her sets in her grandfather’s memory. she moved to austin to develop her sound and get more exposure. produced by raul malo of the mavericks and niko bolas, and recorded in nashville with a cadre of top shelf local musicians, the album is a mix of traditional country, soul swagger, and honky tonk. she wrote all but two of the eleven songs. the title is a reference to alcoholics anonymous rule 62, which states ‘don’t take yourself too seriously’. my favorite cut is ‘can’t stop shakin’, a thoroughly enjoyable funky groove. there are also a few phil spector sounding sixties throwbacks (‘better to my baby’ and ‘you’re a mess), but most of the rest of the songs could easily be enjoyed in any honky tonk joint. just another shining example of the type of young real talent out there, if you just go a’ lookin’. the liner notes curiously say ‘funded by the government of canada’, so i hope they get a good return on their investment.