12 years ago, I was in Boston for a 10 days trip. I didn’t want to stay only in Boston and I decided to go South, towards Newport, Rhode Island. An amazing place! On my way back to Massachussets, I decided to make a stop in Providence, the capital city of Rhode Island. As a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I wanted to visit the “Providence Atheneum“, this independent library where the writer had spent many hours. I still remember today this place and a short conversation I had with a librarian about one of my favorite writers.
All this to say that Providence is the hometown of the talented country artist Charlie Marie, who released a very impressive EP, this spring, the self-titled “Charlie Marie“. I highly recommend to all those who haven’t listened to it yet to do it inmediatly. Its five songs are really the quintessence of country music. Something impressive for an artist born and raised in New England, a territory quite far from the historical land of the genre. But as Waylon Jennings used to say, “Country music isn’t a guitar, it isn’t a banjo, it isn’t a melody, it isn’t a lyric. It’s a feeling”. And this feeling can be shared by everyone far from US Southern territories, in Northeastern part of USA… and in France!
The first song I listened from this EP was “Rodeo“… and I fell in love with it immediately. This gem is undoubtedly one of the best country songs I’ve listened to this year. Its lyrics are really beautiful and the way Charlie Marie sings it is just unique. With this song, you understand why you began to love country music and you know the genre will never die.
“Countryside” is my other favorite song, not only for its excellent music but also for its beautiful songwriting. I completely agree with Charlie Marie when she says that “Skyscrapers may kiss the sky, but everywhere’s got a countryside” and adds “Found out home ain’t a place, it’s a feeling I get when I hear Patsy Cline” and “Cowboys are not the only ones who like mountain mornings and setting suns“. This french blog exists precisely because country music is a feeling, no matter where you live. It also explains why “Just because you wear a Stetson and you say you were made in Texas doesn’t mean you’re country and western”, as Charlie Marie pertinently reminds us with the excellent and catchy “Rhinestones“.
With “Shot in the dark“, we have another evidence of Charlie Marie’s love for classic country music. This beautiful ballad is not a surprise when you know that she grew up listening up to Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton.
This brilliant EP ends with “Playboy“, another excellent song, with more use of guitars and something rock.
Please, Charlie Marie, don’t let us for a long time without your music. You are the embodiment of country music genre.
Nicolas Davelu
Country Music France 