Kate Wallace

19 August 2007
KATE WALLACE

Politics And Religion: - New Pair Of Dimes Music - ***** FIVE STARS

Kate Wallace resided in Nashville for a decade in the hope that, as she put it, “mainstream country music might still honor its roots, not veer irretrievably into predictable pop music.” During this period she released an excellent self titled country album, following it up with TWO LANE AMERICA, a collaboration with her musical travelling companion, Michael Camp, before finally releasing the wonderful TOO LONG FROM THE SEA.
As much as Kate loved the community spirit she found among many writers and performers in Nashville, she realised that Nashville was not really interested in the sort of music that she wanted to make, and in turn, she was not interested in the sort of music Nashville expected from her and so she left for California and there she has found her spiritual home. A literate writer of serious songs, Kate has a voice which conveys her message powerfully. Some may view the title of her latest album with a measure of trepidation expecting a bigoted or biased tirade of fanaticism, but in this they would be sorely mistaken. Kate, like one of her idols, Pete Seeger, loves her country although she is acutely aware that there are some cultural, social, political and indeed, religious issues which need to be addressed. She is certainly not into pointing an accusing finger at individuals,nor does she demand revenge, retribution or calling for miscreants to be hung, drawn and quartered. What she does do, in a sense, is hold up a mirror so that society can view itself and, hopefully, recognise and consequently redress its own shortcomings. She does this most eloquently through her music and she most certainly does not self righteously exclude herself from the reflection. A number of her songs relate to love of our fellow beings, peace, reconciliation, mercy and friendship in order to build a better, more harmonious world. Kate’s songs are thought provoking, leaving the listener considering a range of issues which might otherwise have been swept under the carpet but, having been presented so rationally, so articulately, it becomes difficult to dismiss them lightly. Now, all this might sound fairly ‘highbrow’ or idealistic, but it is not. POLITICS AND RELIGION is an incredibly well crafted album which is not at all ‘preachy’. Kate is honest and forthright in the issues she addresses. She has written eight of the featured tracks with Dark Angel, dealing with the sudden death of a close friend particularly moving while the plea she makes in How Can You Turn Away making for compelling listening, and the beautiful I Will Carry You demonstrating what an incisive, compassionate writer Kate is. The three songs which do not originate from her pen fit seamlessly in with her own writing and each of them on their own is worth the asking price of the album. The first of these, Spirit, was written by John Stewart who shares the vocals with Kate. The delivery is nothing short of stunning and left this reviewer returning to it time and again in order to absorb every note, every syllable. Next came Love Comes To The Simple Heart, written and originally recorded by Chuck Hall, another riveting love song, while the closing track, Old Devil Time, written by Pete Seeger must surely rank as one of the highlights of an album where every song has so much to commend it.
Just as Kate wastes no meaningless words in her lyrics, so also does she not allow her songs to become cluttered with unnecessary instruments. She plays acoustic guitar and gathers around her old friends and more than competent musicians like Michael Lille on lead guitar, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, Kenny Blackwell on mandolin, Tom Ball on harmonica with Peter Galway on electric bass along with subdued drums and percussion. Not all the named musicians play on every track, but when they do the result is highly satisfying. David Tolegian is featured on saxophone on two tracks, Mercy Brings Mercy and How Can You Turn Away but special mention must be made of David West, who not only co-produced the album with Kate but also sings vocal harmony on some numbers as well as offering additional guitar, mandolin and acoustic bass. David worked with the late Kate Wolf and his contribution to this album is immense.

Details www.katewallace.com

- Maverick Magazine, U.K.

19 August 2007
KATE WALLACE

Politics And Religion: - New Pair Of Dimes Music - ***** FIVE STARS

Kate Wallace resided in Nashville for a decade in the hope that, as she put it, “mainstream country music might still honor its roots, not veer irretrievably into predictable pop music.” During this period she released an excellent self titled country album, following it up with TWO LANE AMERICA, a collaboration with her musical travelling companion, Michael Camp, before finally releasing the wonderful TOO LONG FROM THE SEA.
As much as Kate loved the community spirit she found among many writers and performers in Nashville, she realised that Nashville was not really interested in the sort of music that she wanted to make, and in turn, she was not interested in the sort of music Nashville expected from her and so she left for California and there she has found her spiritual home. A literate writer of serious songs, Kate has a voice which conveys her message powerfully. Some may view the title of her latest album with a measure of trepidation expecting a bigoted or biased tirade of fanaticism, but in this they would be sorely mistaken. Kate, like one of her idols, Pete Seeger, loves her country although she is acutely aware that there are some cultural, social, political and indeed, religious issues which need to be addressed. She is certainly not into pointing an accusing finger at individuals,nor does she demand revenge, retribution or calling for miscreants to be hung, drawn and quartered. What she does do, in a sense, is hold up a mirror so that society can view itself and, hopefully, recognise and consequently redress its own shortcomings. She does this most eloquently through her music and she most certainly does not self righteously exclude herself from the reflection. A number of her songs relate to love of our fellow beings, peace, reconciliation, mercy and friendship in order to build a better, more harmonious world. Kate’s songs are thought provoking, leaving the listener considering a range of issues which might otherwise have been swept under the carpet but, having been presented so rationally, so articulately, it becomes difficult to dismiss them lightly. Now, all this might sound fairly ‘highbrow’ or idealistic, but it is not. POLITICS AND RELIGION is an incredibly well crafted album which is not at all ‘preachy’. Kate is honest and forthright in the issues she addresses. She has written eight of the featured tracks with Dark Angel, dealing with the sudden death of a close friend particularly moving while the plea she makes in How Can You Turn Away making for compelling listening, and the beautiful I Will Carry You demonstrating what an incisive, compassionate writer Kate is. The three songs which do not originate from her pen fit seamlessly in with her own writing and each of them on their own is worth the asking price of the album. The first of these, Spirit, was written by John Stewart who shares the vocals with Kate. The delivery is nothing short of stunning and left this reviewer returning to it time and again in order to absorb every note, every syllable. Next came Love Comes To The Simple Heart, written and originally recorded by Chuck Hall, another riveting love song, while the closing track, Old Devil Time, written by Pete Seeger must surely rank as one of the highlights of an album where every song has so much to commend it.
Just as Kate wastes no meaningless words in her lyrics, so also does she not allow her songs to become cluttered with unnecessary instruments. She plays acoustic guitar and gathers around her old friends and more than competent musicians like Michael Lille on lead guitar, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, Kenny Blackwell on mandolin, Tom Ball on harmonica with Peter Galway on electric bass along with subdued drums and percussion. Not all the named musicians play on every track, but when they do the result is highly satisfying. David Tolegian is featured on saxophone on two tracks, Mercy Brings Mercy and How Can You Turn Away but special mention must be made of David West, who not only co-produced the album with Kate but also sings vocal harmony on some numbers as well as offering additional guitar, mandolin and acoustic bass. David worked with the late Kate Wolf and his contribution to this album is immense.

Details www.katewallace.com

- Maverick Magazine, U.K.

I may at first have found the title of Kate's latest release daunting, as Religion and Politics are topics I generally avoid. But, as many fellow artists insist, the point is that these times are too troubling to avoid talking of politics, and how it intermingles with faith. In fact, the title is a little misleading, since the matters at hand could be called Spirit, Mercy, Love, and Time.
There's no finger-pointing here, just a call to consider where one stands. Kate Wallace is a rare singer songwriter with a lot on her mind, which she has always spoken freely. She made an indelible impression on so many of us in the ten years she spent in Nashville, and Brent Rowan produced a great Country record on her before she called it a decade and returned to her roots in Southern California, where she's still making great singer/ songwriter records and playing gigs with her multi-instrumentalist paramour Douglas Clegg. Kate's also been a key player in the Kerrville Folk Festival crowd down in Texas. And she hosts a great concert series in Santa Barbara called Trinity Backstage, you can check that out at www.trinitybackstage.com.
Politics and Religion is a lush and masterful recording, and co-producer David West has everything to do with its triumph. The artist is herself a fine arranger with a veteran's ears and instincts, but the partnership with West really works. He also sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars and basses, mandolin, banjo, dobro, and keyboard. All righty,then.
Gabe Witcher on fiddle is sterling. Stringmeister troubador Michael Lille appears on acoustic lead on the opening and closing cuts, always first rate, and the So Cal legend Kenny Edwards turns in a pair of great bass tracks. The most surprising cameo is one of Kate's idols, John Stewart, singing harmony on his beautiful composition, "Spirit." Kate's voice is awesome throughout,but it really killed me on the Pete Seeger closer, "Old Devil Time."

“Songs to live by and a voice to die for.More than impressive, deeply moving. Get it.” •

Frank Goodman, Editor, www.puremusic.com
- www.puremusic.com

“This is somebody you need to pay attention to. Her songs have
wonderful melodic curves and her vocal is marvelously lustrous.
Seek her out- trust me, she’s a real winner.”

Robert K. Oermann,
Music Row Magazine
- Music Row Magazine

I may at first have found the title of Kate's latest release daunting, as Religion and Politics are topics I generally avoid. But, as many fellow artists insist, the point is that these times are too troubling to avoid talking of politics, and how it intermingles with faith. In fact, the title is a little misleading, since the matters at hand could be called Spirit, Mercy, Love, and Time.
There's no finger-pointing here, just a call to consider where one stands. Kate Wallace is a rare singer songwriter with a lot on her mind, which she has always spoken freely. She made an indelible impression on so many of us in the ten years she spent in Nashville, and Brent Rowan produced a great Country record on her before she called it a decade and returned to her roots in Southern California, where she's still making great singer/ songwriter records and playing gigs with her multi-instrumentalist paramour Douglas Clegg. Kate's also been a key player in the Kerrville Folk Festival crowd down in Texas. And she hosts a great concert series in Santa Barbara called Trinity Backstage, you can check that out at www.trinitybackstage.com.
Politics and Religion is a lush and masterful recording, and co-producer David West has everything to do with its triumph. The artist is herself a fine arranger with a veteran's ears and instincts, but the partnership with West really works. He also sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars and basses, mandolin, banjo, dobro, and keyboard. All righty,then.
Gabe Witcher on fiddle is sterling. Stringmeister troubador Michael Lille appears on acoustic lead on the opening and closing cuts, always first rate, and the So Cal legend Kenny Edwards turns in a pair of great bass tracks. The most surprising cameo is one of Kate's idols, John Stewart, singing harmony on his beautiful composition, "Spirit." Kate's voice is awesome throughout,but it really killed me on the Pete Seeger closer, "Old Devil Time."

“Songs to live by and a voice to die for.More than impressive, deeply moving. Get it.” •

Frank Goodman, Editor, www.puremusic.com
- www.puremusic.com

"Kate sings with the type of raw tenacity that separates your standard female singer songwriters from your great ones"

Alan Cackett,
Maverick Magazine, UK - Maverick Magazine, UK

"Kate sings with the type of raw tenacity that separates your standard female singer songwriters from your great ones"

Alan Cackett,
Maverick Magazine, UK - Maverick Magazine, UK

"Wallace was once a Nashville-based writer, but who never subscribed to the Music Row mentality of factory writing. She has a distinctive voice and style of writing that allows the songs to flow together seamlessly....Kate deserves all the success fate might bring her for sticking to her guns and making it sound so good."

Neal Fagan
Performing Songwriter Magazine - Performing Songwriter Magazine

"Wallace's vocals are always exactly right. Her voice is clear and rich; it retains power in the lower registers and does not thin out when it gets higher. The melodies share an infectiousness, yet the style shifts from song to song: each is distinctly different...
Wallace blends folk, pop, blues and jazz effectively into a unique and appealing style of her own. Each track has something to recommend it; each song has a story in the evocative lyrics. On Too Long From the Sea, Wallace demonstrates a versatility in performance and material which is both rare and welcome." Donna Scanlon - Rambles Cultural Arts Magazine

"Wallace was once a Nashville-based writer, but who never subscribed to the Music Row mentality of factory writing. She has a distinctive voice and style of writing that allows the songs to flow together seamlessly....Kate deserves all the success fate might bring her for sticking to her guns and making it sound so good."

Neal Fagan
Performing Songwriter Magazine - Performing Songwriter Magazine