Label, year: Paladin, 1999
Producer: Spencer T. Campbell, Frank Liddell
Running Time: 43:50
This release from Stacey Dean Campbell comes as a long-awaited follow-up to his previous effort, the wonderful and critically-acclaimed Hurt City. The singles that were taken from that release, however, failed to make a significant impact on country radio, so it comes as no surprise that Ashes Of Old Love actually sees Stacey take a new direction. As opposed to the big production and Orbisonesque sounds of the earlier CD, this new one has a much more stripped-down kind of production and comes across with a much more personal point of view. The whole album is actually based on vocals, songwriting, and acoustic guitars, provided by both the Campbell brothers (Stacey and brother Spencer). The opening track right away puts the listener in the mood for what the album is like: written with Dean Miller, Makin' Good Time is an excellent song, but since it lacks a chorus (and loud drums!) it is quite obvious it was not thought for Country radio. As far as the songwriting is concerned, this time around Stacey Dean provides almost all his material himself, relying only on three covers; two are Jamie O'Hara compositions, Some People Just Can't Walk The Line and The Auction (Bidding America Goodbye), a track you might remember from an early nineties Tanya Tucker album. Both versions are good, but Stacey Dean's is truly superb, his voice having just the right twist and emotion foir the song. Also excellent is the closing number, David Halley's Rain Just Falls, with clever and yet simple lyrics. That said, this does not mean the originals are bad songs, not at all. Ashes Of Old Love is great, and is the song closest to his tribute to the blues and hurt that Hurt City was, and while no track really stands out from the others, that is probably because the quality, as well as the basic attributes of the album, simplicity and feel, always remains above average; Curious enough, if one had to choose one best track, a good choice would be Gone By Now, one song you'll want to hear over and over, but it also might be a little too reminiscent of Kevin Welch's style (he wrote the song with Stacey), so while Stacey does a fine job of handling the song, it is kind of disappointing not to have a Welch version as well.
In conclusion, this a great outing, amd extremely refreshing and true to genre in these times of pop country, but also a very risky bet on Campbell's part to establish himself in a niche different from the one he used to occupy. In fact, this album might disappoint a lot of listeners, not the new ones, but those who expected the return of a cool Roy Orbison of the nineties, country radio listeners, with sounds that are perhaps just a little too mellow for today's standards, and those who just liked his previous album. Me being part of this latter group, I admit I was rather disappointed not to have another Hurt City, fearing we might have lost one of the most original artists of the last few years. Well, that might just be true, but it is also like we have a brand new and still immensely talented Stacey Dean Campbell.
