November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post Reply
User avatar
bonnielaurel
Keep On Movin'
Posts: 1662
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:48 pm

November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by bonnielaurel »

Lindi Ortega was born in Toronto in 1980. After living in Nashville for several years, where she tried to make it as a country singer, she moved back to Vancouver this year. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar she brings music in a retro style, reminiscent of country and rockabilly of the 1950s. Her voice has been compared to Dolly Parton, her instrumental backing to Johnny Cash. The title of her 2011 album Little Red Boots refers to her trademark footwear.

Image

1. Little Lie is an energetic opener with a 50s country sound with a plucked double bass (or upright bass as country musicians say). She explains that she has been telling white lies to her lover to meet his expectations.

2. When All the Stars Align is a lyrical musing about the naive longing for perfect love. The vibrato of the lap steel guitar is used.

3. Blue Bird is a light, swinging tune with Kevin Breit on the banjo. The title might be a reference to the Bluebird Café in Nashville, where a lot of country musicians perform. It’s about her wish to comfort people by singing. Just before the end she yodels on a high note.

4. Angels is a mid-tempo song with the singer on acoustic guitar. It’s about feeling abandoned in a strange city.

5. I'm No Elvis Presley was inspired by an audition after which an uninterested judge remarked that she was good, but he didn’t think she would ever be legendary like Elvis Presley. She explains that she will continue singing in spite of not being a superstar. The electric guitar solo could come from a 50s rock 'n' roll song.

6. Little Red Boots, her visual trademark, could refer to "The Red Shoes" by H. C. Andersen, which has a mixture of lightness and sadness, of passion and fatalism. She can sound light and playful, but her voice also has a sad undertone.

7. Dying of Another Broken Heart has a sober accompaniment, with only the singer’s acoustic guitar in the first verse.

8. All My Friends uses ambiguous names like Mary Jane (marihuana?) and Jack (Daniels?), and mentions sleeping pills and suicidal thoughts.

9. Fall or Fly is a song in ¾ with a weeping lap steel guitar and an organ about not giving up in hard times.

10. Jimmy Dean continues the fascination with 50s stardom. It’s sung by the ghost of the tragic film star, who recalls the excitement of his wild lifestyle. It has a bluesy harmonica solo. If I had to pick one favorite song from the album it would be this one.

11. Black Fly is a mid-tempo parting song amidst the whiskey bottles. This time she is the one who wants to be lied to.

12. So Sad is a melancholic closer in ¾, sung in a whispering tone. This somber side will be explored further on her 2013 album “Tin Star”, when she realizes Nashville hasn’t brought her everything she hoped for.

In spite of its retro style this album sounds contemporary and personal. Each song has its own individuality. In the end it’s about original songwriting, inspired singing and meaningful lyrics.

Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by Hymie »

1. Little Lie

Good rhythm track. Her voice is a little too "cutesy" for 50s rockabilly IMO. Give me Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson or Laurie Collins instead.

2. When All the Stars Align

I hear the Dolly Parton similarity on this one. Never cared much for Dolly.

3. Blue Bird

Good drumming on this one. Her voice just annoys me.

4. Angels

Another good rhythm track.

5. I'm No Elvis Presley

The guitar solo sounds nothing like any 50s guitar solo I ever heard.

6. Little Red Boots

Back to the Parton voice.

7. Dying of Another Broken Heart

"There's no amount of morphine that will ever ease my pain????"

8. All My Friends

yawn.

9. Fall or Fly

Some very predictable and childish rhymes.

10. Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Dean is the guy that sand "Big Bad John." I guess she means "James Dean."

11. Black Fly

Her voice is much too cutesy to put across a song like this convincingly.

12. So Sad

I guess she did not know that this song title was taken already:

I can't deal with her voice. It's like chalk squeaking on a blackboard to my ears. I'm giving the album a 3. Some of the songs would be good with the right singer. Maybe some of you will like her voice. Here's the kind of voice I want for this kind of stuff:
DocBrown
Shake Some Action
Posts: 1255
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:15 am
Location: Edmonton, Canada

Re: November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by DocBrown »

Here on the forum I am often the leading fan of female vocalists; usually the biggest fan of country artists and always the biggest booster of Canadian artists. So why am I not a huge afficiando of Lindi Ortega, who has certainly been on my radar for a half decade or more?

She has a delicious voice, often employing a little vocal fry which is a technique I'm always a sucker for. Her songs occasionally have a little lyrical twist which lifts the writing a small notch above most pop country. And when she tries her hand at a cover ("I'm On Fire", one of my favourite Springsteen cuts) her band really soars.

But there's the rub; this band and these arrangements could just as well be labelled "Generic Two-Step #7", or whatever. There's not a bad vocal performance here, and occasional flashes of inspired guitar (the intro to "Angels", the bridge of "I'm No Elvis Presley") but only two fully realized originals (the title track and "Jimmy Dean"). I'll give part marks to "Fall or Fly" as well. But the banjo part on "Blue Bird" should be consigned to whatever hell "Deliverance" came from; not for its musical qualities but for its social amenities. And is it just me but does every single track end with that same brushed cymbal?

What Lindi needs is a producer and arranger who can push these songs outside the comfortable envelope of pop country. After all, she's not been successful with radio friendly fare, so why not take a risk? Apparently she has been struggling with the decision to retire from the business, which would be a shame. (Apparently she has also recently become engaged and is living two hours down the road in Calgary http://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/ ... e-business Lindi should know that in Calgary, little red boots are not a girls distinctive fashion statement; they're her other pair of shoes.)

I really do love this voice. I hope that true love, a geographic cure and recommitting to her music career adds another dimension to her work 'cause I'd really like to be a Lindi Ortega fan. I also get the sense that she is an artist best appreciated live and she has a show in a small theatre literally five minutes from home next March. If so, I'll owe Bonnie Laurel a big thank you.
Last edited by DocBrown on Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Hymie
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3330
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Re: November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by Hymie »

Doc had the opposite reaction of me. I thought some of the material would be good with a different singer, and he thought that the material was not good, but that the singer is really good.

Either way, something is not clicking.
jamieW
Keep On Movin'
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:19 pm

Re: November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by jamieW »

Sounds like I enjoyed this a little more than anyone else so far. Part of it may be because modern Country music (since the 1990’s) is by far my least favorite genre, and "Little Red Boots" was better than expected. Lindi Ortega's voice also sounded fine to me, especially since I’m well-accustomed to much more annoying Country vocalists nowadays. The songwriting was rather hit-and-miss, but I really liked the haunting “All My Friends,” where she rationally resigns herself to the fact that her addictions will kill her. The retro-Country elements also provided a welcome wistfulness to a time when I actually liked this kind of music. I wouldn’t quite put Lindi up there with alt-Country artists such as Lydia Loveless and Kasey Musgraves, but that’s almost a different category entirely. Still, if all modern Country sounded like her, I might not approach it with such a sense of dread.

Overall album rating: 5.92 (Good for this genre) Favorite song: All My Friends 8
User avatar
spiritualized
Full of Fire
Posts: 2848
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2012 4:45 pm
Location: Near Montpellier, France

Re: November 27, 2017 - Album of the Week - Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

Post by spiritualized »

Sorry I couldn't listen to this until now, the week has been quite hectic.
It seems I had a country-tinged week - listening to Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and now this.
LIndi Ortega sounds much fresher than these two dinosaurs : reading everyone's opinion, I was however expecting a root-down country . Fortunately, I didn't get it,
There are snippets of country influence, but, folks, this ain't a country record by my standards - she has a lovely voice and the tunes are instantly catchy.
A solid 7/10 - definitely a record I'd like to revisit again (unlike Emmylou, which says a lot...)
Post Reply

Return to “Music, Music, Music...”