Melissa Carper draws on a wide swath of American music, from the 1920s through the ‘70s. She blends New Orleans and swing jazz with country & western, blues, Broadway, and bluegrass into an admixture birthed in the ArkLaTex heat. Carper might be the Western swing Amy Winehouse, seamlessly conjuring multiple genres into her songs. The singer’s breakout recording Ramblin’ Soul (Mae Music, 2022) captures the singer finding her way quickly from the novelty to the organically real.
The title of this recording is adopted from Dr. Ralph Stanley’s consideration, “I don’t think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya.” An evolution has occurred from Ramblin’ Soul to Boned In Ya. While not losing any of her homespun authenticity, Carper has recast the Countrypolitan strings and background vocals of the 1950s and ‘60s into a collection of songs that Billie Holiday would have made had she been born in Texas and sang with Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys.
The title song boasts the Winehouse comparison but adds a bit of Aretha Franklin and Tammy Wynette. “I Don’t Love You Anymore” sounds like vintage Ray Price during his heady days circa the mid-’60s. “Evil Eva” is from the early days of rock and roll, before rock and roll shed it doo wop commercialism. “That’s My Desire” could have been fiddled by Stéphane Grappelli at the Armadillo World Headquarters. “Let’s Stay Single Together” has all of the Countrypolitan charm of George Jones’ Musicor period. This music is as comfortable as your favorite pair of overalls.