EILEN JEWELL

Butcher Holler

[Signature Sounds]

In assembling this tribute to Loretta Lynn, Eilen Jewell says she chose songs that spotlight the legendary country singer and songwriter’s personal strength. No surprise, then, that the record kicks off with “Fist City,” that most famous of take-no-crap Lynn songs. And no surprise that songs like “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “You’re Looking at Country” show up, too. But Jewell also chooses songs beyond the obvious that extend the theme—lesser-known tunes like “You Wanna Give Me a Lift” and “Who Says God Is Dead?” (Lynn’s characteristically in-your-face answer: “I’d like to meet him face to face and tell him it’s not so!”). As much as her choices, though, what makes Butcher Holler come alive is the throwback hillbilly style with which Jewell and her band deliver the songs of one of country music’s true giants. –Stuart Munro