Cheri Knight

The Northeast Kingdom (1998)



Although Knight is sometimes classified as something of a maverick modern country artist, her sound is too eclectic to be categorized as country. It's better thought of, perhaps, as extremely ambitious, smart mainstream pop with a lot of indie rock and country elements. If this is the direction country or Nashville might go in (it was produced in Nashville and features Steve Earle on guitar throughout), one can only applaud heartily. On this album, she's developed into a really fine singer/songwriter whose compositions and throaty vocal delivery project a wise weariness. The sound is quite varied by either country or rock standards, from the near-Celtic drone of "Dar Glasgow" and the Byrdsy jangle of "Rose in the Vine" to the Appalachian pluck of "The Hatfield Side" and "Crawling" (one of a couple tunes with Emmylou Harris on backup vocals). Both "Crawling" and "Northeast Kingdom" are particular standouts, compelling songs of troubled relationships with fresh lyrical twists, and with enough hooks to grab rock and pop ears; "White Lies," on the other hand, is an upbeat number that has the makings of a modern honky tonk classic. - AMG album pick

Amazon.com's Best of 1998
Former Blood Orange Cheri Knight has hit her highest marks with Northeast Kingdom. The mix of rootsy rock and folky textures gives Knight's tunes an upfront urgency and a surrounding sponginess that quickly draws listeners into these pithy dramas. Roomy production from the TwangTrust (Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy) allows Knight's heavyhearted lyrics to unfurl with a full range of colors, putting Northeast Kingdom leaps ahead of many 1998 releases. --Andrew Bartlett

Cheri Knight's singing voice is deceptively simple: there's a straightforward soulfulness to her, even though she never seems to do anything fancy with it. The Northeast Kingdom, the second solo effort from this former Blood Orange, is all over the map stylistically--there's an Irish air, a jangly pop number, a honky-tonk shuffle, even something of a southern rocker--but it's that haunting voice that makes everything here feel of a piece. Of course, the swinging, Steve Earle-produced arrangements and Knight's beautiful, impressionistic songs of love and betrayal (like the emotionally risky "Crawling") don't hurt either.

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TrackList:

01. Dar Glasgow
02. Rose in the Vine
03. If Wishes Were Horses
04. Northeast Kingdom
05. Black Eyed Susie
06. Crawling
07. Hatfield Side
08. White Lies
09. Dead Man's Curve
10. All Blue
11. Sweetheart
12. Black Eyed Susie



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