Becky Schlegel started songwriting a little later in life than many artists, her first song being written on her 27th birthday, even though she has been singing and playing the piano since she was 5 years old back in Kimball, South Dakota, where she was a member of her mother’s band.

She has a soft and angelic soprano voice that is versatile within her voice range and she can be gritty as well as whispering like a drifting cloud. She claims that the writing of songs helped her to dictate the direction of her music and she found a sweeter sound in her voice and reminds me sometimes of Dolly Parton and sometimes Alison Krauss, but she is all her own voice and style.

The CD “Dandelion” is a mixture of true, traditional Bluegrass and music that takes one step away from traditional Bluegrass. The song “I Never Loved You Cowboy” is one such song. It has a flowing and lilting melody and her voice blends well with the music as she talks about a real-life teen-aged breakup which, even though she acted is if it didn’t matter, she was deep down heartbroken. And who wouldn’t be heartbroken over a breakup with a cowboy with baby blue eyes?

“When It Rains” is a story song about a trucker, a waitress and a truck stop layover with the outer limits of being alone. The trucker wants to know the waitress better and they loved for hours in the pouring rain and she did not even care that his love was only borrowed as she thinks of him in the future in the pouring rain. There is truthful emotion in this song and Becky’s voice is hauntingly beautiful.

“The Colorado Line” is an upbeat catchy melody that really reminds me of a Dolly Parton song as she sings about a goodbye at the Colorado borderline. There’s good banjo picking in this song and the tempo never lets you down. She still remembers words whispered goodbye and wishes she could see his face again and hold him just one more time even though she knows through all of her tears that he can never be hers.

There are several wonderfully sung love songs and life songs on this CD and if you really enjoy a mixture of traditional and contemporary Bluegrass you will enjoy this album.

You can find Becky at www.becky.bandvista.com as well as http://www.myspace.com/beckyschlegel

Calamity Annie – CMTT Music Contributor
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