[.ca] Because It Feel Good

From Amazon.com:
Kelly Hogan loves country, rock, and soul just about equally, and with a voice as warm and sticky-sweet as a fresh pecan pie, she does justice to them all. Her third album takes things slow and sultry, making its predecessors seem rowdy in retrospect. The song selection follows a familiar formula--a pair of Hogan's own compositions, plus eight interpretations of forgotten favorites (like Randy Newman's "Living Without You" and the Statler Brothers' "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You") and contemporary diamonds in the rough (like Smog's "Strayed"). Guest star Andrew Bird's violin makes a melodrama of Hogan's break-up ballad "No Bobby Don't," while the other original, "Sugarbowl"--a tune packed with naughty double-entendres and featuring a mouth trumpet solo--is both playful and poignant. Best of all is "Please Don't Leave Me Lonely," a cover of New Orleans soul man King Floyd that smolders for three delicious minutes before bursting into flames. --Anders Smith Lindall

YAY!:
YAY! this was a great album! i loved it!

Powerful voice:
Very beautiful songs, can listen to them over and over. Favorites are No, Bobby Don't and Strayed. Also a wonderful performer live, definately check her out if she comes to your town.

One of the best of 2001:
I know what to expect from Kelly Hogan's music--superlative taste in what artists to cover, excellent originals, a band with chops to spare and Kelly's wonderful voice. All of these are present on this release, one that doesn't grab you immediately like her prior release with the Pine Valley Cosmonauts. But in many ways this CD is even better. The production is a little inconsistent. On 'In Time' Hogan sounds great on the verses; then on the chorus her voice suddenly sounds muddled. Here's some advice to the producer: Hogan's voice is simply great...it doesn't need dressing up. Hogan has made another CD that, while not vital, offers the listener a great time. It was on my best of 2001 list.

Never know what to expect:
You never know what to expect from Kelly. Her two Jody Grind albums didn't fit into any recognizable genres. Her first solo album, the cathartic "Whistle Only Dogs Can Hear", was, in my opinion, uneven, but that's what grief will do to an artist. She displayed her guitar talents when she was with the Rock*A*Teens rather than her voice. And "Beneath the Country Underdog" was a great, great album, a true gem of what insurgent country can be. And what I love about Kelly more than anything on her albums was her voice, the way I had to stop thinking or doing what I had been and just listen to her talk about heartbreak or love or lust or staying at a bar too long. You never had to guess what she was feeling or what she was singing about. Wonderful talent. But someone at Bloodshot Records, someone who I've never met, someone who doesn't know me, someone who may be Kelly herself toned her voice down in this album, hid it behind the music. Great songs, great lyrics, great subjects, but I want Kelly out front, Kelly, the cowgirl, the bar scene queen, singing only to me.

I, too, am left wanting more:
But I'll never send back what I've got. Actually, I don't mind that it's barely 35 mintues long, since I always listen to Kelly's cds two or three times in a row. Now if she'd just come to Phoenix, dangit!

• I'll Go To My Grave Loving You
• In Time
• Strayed
• No, Bobby Don't
• Speedfreak Lullaby
• Please Don't Leave Me Lonely
• (You Don't Know) The First Thing About Blue
• Sugarbowl
• Living Without You
• Stay