Album Review: Susanna Clegg – Good Times Are Coming Our Way | Traditional Country for a New Generation
Susanna Clegg – Good Times Are Coming Our Way - Out 18th Sep
Susanna Clegg’s 10-track debut album features a host of new songs alongside reworked tracks to make them fit this album. I recently saw her live and she mentioned some of them were reworked to fit in a better key for the band.
She is quite possibly the youngest traditional-sounding country artist I know. Traditional country is having a real moment right now, with loads of young artists bringing that sound to a younger generation, and Susanna is right amongst them.
The first time you see Susanna live, you instantly think, that vocal comes from her at that age? Wow. There’s a power and tone to her voice that you don’t expect, and what really stands out with this album is that the recorded and live versions are on par. The way the album has been recorded captures what you actually hear when you see her live.
With her powerful signature vocal and the vocal runs in opening track Prospect Street, it sets the real tone for the album.
It’s 100% traditional country music. It’s got everything from heartbreak and sad songs to the fast-paced Last To Know Blues — every traditional country artist needs a honky-tonk, fast-paced song.
The whole album is raw and feels very much like a live recording, which is perfect for her sound. There’s no overproduction, but it’s the little touches that really stand out.
At the beginning of Tess, you can hear a faint hiss. It’s live and raw, and when that vocal comes in — wow. The vocal runs are simple and tender, with the double bass and instrumentation giving her vocal the space it needs.
The double bass instrumentation throughout the whole album, and all the little notes of instrumentation everywhere, are stunning. Nothing feels like it’s there just for the sake of it.
The title track, Good Times Are Coming Our Way, keeps that traditional sound running through the album before Sweet Roses, where the guitar matching her vocals is sublime. The vocal runs match the instrumentation so well.
On Forgetmenot, the blues riffs complement her vocals stunningly, showing another side to her voice while still keeping that traditional sound.
Caroline leads into Colorado, which is already a firm fan favourite with its sing-along “Colorado” part. But it’s the tender instrumentation that makes this track a standout. The bass gives the tender vocals a moment to really shine.
Then you get Last To Know Blues, picking up the pace. Every traditional country album needs that fast-paced honky-tonk moment and this is it.
Let In The Night — what a track to end the album. A slowed-down waltz, with the fiddle setting the tone for the song from the start and her vocal on point once again.
The vocal tones from Susanna and the power that comes from such a young artist really stand out. I know she’s become a firm favourite with my fellow gig-goers in London. With traditional country finding a new generation of fans, Susanna feels very much part of that movement.
With this album, her vocals, runs and the notes she can give you go from those really tender moments right through to the big belting vocals. That’s what makes her stand out.
Good Times Are Coming Our Way feels raw, live and completely suited to Susanna. It doesn’t need loads of production around it. The vocals and traditional instrumentation are allowed to do the work, and that’s exactly what this album needed.
October Tour Dates
October 2nd — FortyFive Vinyl Cafe, York
October 3rd — Hen House Presents, Irlam, Manchester
October 7th — 21Soho Below, London
October 9th — Bruern Farms Cafe, Chipping Norton
Track Listing
Prospect Street
Put Me In My Grave
Tess
Good Times Are Coming Our Way
Sweet Roses
Forgetmenot
Caroline
Colorado
Last To Know Blues
Let In The Night
