Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story - An Album to Benefit War Child (Sony Legacy, 2017)
Various Artists
Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh
Dolly Parton takes on the title track and fully owns it, as only she can. If you didn't know better, you'd assume she'd written it. Another iconic female artist, Adele, closes the album with an acoustic guitar-backed "Hiding My Heart."
Although most of these participants are the quieter sort, Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam pump up the volume with a punk-ish "Again Today." Jim James, who has been known to get loud with My Morning Jacket, doesn't exactly get particularly loud with his quirky take on "Wasted." Anderson East adds a little soul to the party during "Josephine."
For Americana music fans, this album is an A-list assembly. The Avett Brothers shine empathetically, the way they always do for "Have You Ever," while the grizzled pioneer Kris Kristofferson puts his indelible stamp on "Turpentine."
This album must make Carlile proud, as it presents some of the talented artists that came after her, as well as a few of her inspirations. And it's a wonderful story, no matter who tells it.
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