Aspen Black – Born To Be A Cowgirl

For her new album singer/songwriter/author Aspen Black journeyed to the wilds of Nashville. What she found were some fine session folks and, of course, Kerry Grombacher ‘dueted’ on a trio of tracks as well. They have periodically teamed onstage and on-record since 2014. Ms. Black brought her distinctive vocal styling and songwriting acumen to the project, and both are enhanced by the production here. Nicely there seems to be a focus on expression along with the balladeering.

Picks include the title track “Born To Be A Cowgirl,” “Cowboys & Troubadours,” ”Where Cowboys Ride,” “Blue Eyes,” “Rolling Back,” “She Rides.” “Dreams and Lies and Love” and the duet “Hard Work.” Not all the songs are Western, but they don’t have to be! Overall, on both a content and a performance basis, I would name this one as Aspen Black’s best release to date. Ten tracks, highly recommended.

CD: aspen@aspenblackcowgirl.com

by Rick Huff

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Aspen Black – Born To Be A Cowgirl

Themed Song List:

1 – «Born to be a Cowgirl» – strong women, upholding cowboy traditions
2 – «Cowboys and Troubadours» – ranch work, traveling musicians
3 – «Where Cowboys Ride» – how great it is to be in the west!
4 – «Hard Work» – patriotic, veterans, work ethic of the past
5 – «Blue Eyes» – love, experiencing the beauty of the west
6 – «I Remember Loving You» (Utah Phillips cover) – hobos, trains, love
7 – «She Rides» – in memorial, close friendship, strong women
8 – «Montana» – homesteading, western history (1886)
9 – «Dreams and Lies and Love» – people of the west, humanitarian