Tennessee-born singer, songwriter and actress Mandy Barnett has one eye firmly on the past with her latest release, A Nashville Songbook. Her eighth studio album, released through Place Music / BMG, is a collection of covers of American country classics, taking in a wide range of artists including Kris Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley.

As well as being a talented musician and singer, Barnett has a glittering career as a stage actress, and in the lead role of musical Always… Patsy Cline she amassed nearly five hundred performances across a 20-year run. There’s a healthy dose of that stage presence, drama, and action in this collection too.

Opening track I Love A Rainy Night is a wonderful curtain-raiser, a fun reimagining of the 1980s Eddie Rabbitt Billboard Hot 100 number one hit, written by Rabbitt, David E. Malloy and Even Stevens. The Bill Trader-penned hit A Fool Such As I, previously released by the likes of Presley, Bob Dylan, and Jo Stafford, gets a proper country treatment, with bags of personality coming through in Barnett’s vocals.

Orbison’s It’s Over is also well handled, with slick strings and rousing percussion, and a warm, polished feel, while Kristofferson’s well-covered ballad Help Me Make It Through The Night is respected with a stripped-back, intimate version reminiscent of Sammi Smith’s take on the track.

The End Of The World is a particular highlight, as Barnett takes the Skeeter Davis hit and pours her rich vocals into this soaring, multi-layered version, while It’s Over reaches all the way back to the 1940s and takes this little piece of history and repackages it, complete with fiddles and electric guitar, for a new audience.

Everything here is handled with real affection, and with her stunning voice, Barnett has succeeded in creating a collection that honours some of country music’s true greats and has a good time doing it too.

A Nashville Songbook tracklist:

1. I Love A Rainy Night

2. It’s Over

3. Help Me Make It Through The Night

4. A Fool Such As I

5. Love Hurts

6. It’s Now Or Never

7. The Crying Game

8. (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

9. The End Of The World

10. Near You

11. You Needed Me

12. Heartaches By The Number

13. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)

 country 

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.