Loveless giving nod to her bluegrass music roots

Kirk Baird

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 9:16 a.m.

Listening to the new Patty Loveless CD, "Mountain Soul," it's easy to feel nostalgic.

A stirring compilation of bluegrass, mountain and gospel songs -- some classic, some original -- the entire album aches of a simpler time: of a Norman Rockwell living room, circa 1940, with a large AM radio in the corner playing Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys band, while several generations sit quietly nearby, letting the music speak to and for them.

That kind of emotional experience with the disc doesn't surprise Loveless, who performs a sold-out show Saturday at Sam's Town Live!

"We wanted people to get that kind of feel," she said in a recent phone interview from her tour bus in Laughlin. "To feel like they're hearing this come from maybe some old, small room, that it was a live performance."

Loveless' approach worked. The music on her CD sounds so authentic, in fact, one could swear hearing pops and hisses as if it were recorded ages ago and not this year.

"You probably could have," she joked. "The way Emory (Gordy Jr., her husband/producer) put it: 'Here it is, warts and all.' "

If there are warts on "Mountain Soul," no one seems to mind. The record is receiving rave reviews, with critics gushing it's the album Loveless was born to make.

Which isn't far from the truth.

The daughter of a coal miner, Loveless was born in a small Kentucky town and grew up listening to bluegrass, mountain and gospel music -- whether it was on the radio, in church or her mother and aunt singing to her.

"Their soul was in those voices," she said. "When they sung those songs -- whether they were filled with happiness or sadness -- I think the music or songs, in a way, was therapy for them."

Her father's favorite music was bluegrass, and she still vividly recalls him taking her to see legends Lester Flatt and Earle Scruggs perform at a drive-in theater when she was a child.

Beginning her career during the new traditionalist movement in country music during the '80s, Loveless never abandoned her musical roots.

Alongside such hits as "Blame it on Your Heart," "You Can Feel Bad (If it Makes You Feel Better)" and "How Can I Help You Say Good-Bye," she also made sure to include songs on her records that spoke of her heritage, such as "Here I Am" and "Sounds of Loneliness," which she re-recorded for "Mountain Soul."

"I enjoy keeping people on the edge -- whether it's bluegrass, mountain, acoustic, country or a bit more raucous," she said. "It's just I've somehow managed to merge the music I continue to do today with all the music I've been influenced by -- from childhood until now."

Her timing for the album couldn't be better.

"Mountain Soul" arrives on the heels of the phenomenal and surprising success of the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, a collection of bluegrass and gospel standards.

Although Loveless considers the album more mountain music rather than bluegrass -- her difference being mountain music is more about vocals than instrumentation -- there's no doubt the record will attract much of the same audience: the curious, up through the hardcore bluegrass fan.

While it might seem Loveless is trying to cash in on a hot trend, the "Mountain Soul" project predates the movie by nearly a decade, when she agreed to perform at celebrated bluegrass performer Ralph Stanley's annual bluegrass festival.

Assembling a small group of musicians -- including her husband -- Loveless performed some of her favorite classics, including "Soul of Constant Sorrow," a song featured prominently in "O Brother" as "Man of Constant Sorrow."

She enjoyed the performance so much, she and Gordy began collecting classic bluegrass, mountain and gospel songs she could eventually use for an entire album. Later some of those songs were used during an acoustic set she incorporated into her concerts a few years ago.

It was based on the positive response Loveless received to the set, that she knew it was time to make the album.

So imagine her surprise when she saw the "Man of Constant Sorrow" video on CMT as she prepared to record her version of the song.

"My hair just rose to my head. I went, 'Oh my God! No! I didn't know that this was going to happen,' " Loveless said.

At first reluctant to record the song, after talking it over with her husband she decided to include the track on the album.

"If you listen to my version and (the film's) version, it's a different song -- melody and everything," Loveless said. "So I said let's just do it and do it from my perspective."

Besides, she reasoned, she had been performing "Soul of Constant Sorrow" on and off since 1992.

"I had a right to it," she joked.

But don't hold your breath waiting for a follow-up album anytime soon. Loveless said she to wants to see how successful "Mountain Soul" is before contemplating another roots-oriented record. Plus, she said doesn't want to stray too far from mainstream country and risk losing radio support in the process.

"I'm kind of in difficult place to be because I want my new records to be heard as well," she said.

Sixty years ago that wouldn't have been a problem -- warts and all.