Diane Birch: Bible Belt Lossless

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Genre: Blues, Soul | S-Curve Label | Released May 19, 2009
With its white suburban soul and midtempo blues sound, Diane Birch’s debut sounds like a blast from the ‘70s singer/songwriter era. Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King are obvious touchstones here, and the twenty-something Birch (who wasn’t born until the mid-‘80s) approximates their vintage flair by aligning herself with the likes of R&B singer Betty Wright and producer Steve Greenberg, both of whom helped launch Joss Stone’s career several years prior. While Stone’s debut focused on the sheer power of her vocals, Bible Belt also functions instead as a showcase for Birch’s songwriting. She pens every song here -- a marked difference from Stone, who performed cover songs on her own debut -- and sings them with understated grace, adding a touch of grit to the sustained high notes of “Fire Escape” and some coffeehouse sass to the sprightly “Valentino.” Few rookie songwriters play to their strengths this well, and that’s the charm of this record, which doesn’t blow your socks off as much as whet your appetite to fill your glass, recline your chair, and enjoy the record from start to finish.
Artists:
Diane Birch, Vocals, Organ, Guitar, KeyboardsFender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
Jay Footem, Bass, Vocals and Tambourine
Eric Bloom, Trumpet, Flugelhorn and backing vocals
Alex Foote, Guitar and backing vocals
Cindy Blackman, Drums
Adam Blackstone, Bass
Jim Hines, Trumpet
Eugene Briskin, Cello
Eva Burmeister, Violin
Tomas K. Carney, Violin
Minyoung Chang, Violin
David Creswell, Viola
Songs (all compositions by Diane Birch):
01. Fire Escape
02. Valentino
03. Fools
04. Nothing But A Miracle
05. Rewind
06. Rise Up
07. Photograph
08. Don%27t Wait Up
09. Mirror Mirror
10. Ariel
11. Choo Choo
12. Forgiveness
13. Magic View