Kellie Coffey: Walk On

By Keith Hannaleck

• Artist: Kellie Coffey
• Title: Walk On
• Genre: Country/Female Vocalist
• Label: Duet
• Website: www.kelliecoffey.com
• YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ
• Purchase this CD: CD Baby

I have always thought of country as music for guys who like to dress up and play cowboy on the weekend. What can I say? I have a few hang-ups, but I want to taste all that music’s rich buffet has to offer. With Walk On, Kellie Coffey has side-stepped some of the stereotypes I have held about country music through the years. The country music scene isn’t just some good-ol’-boy’s club; these are every-day people not much different from you and me.

Coffey draws from a deep well of talent on this album. Engineers Glen Spinner and JB have recorded the plethora of musicians featured on this project with precision, while David Zaffiro has blended it all in delicate layers. The music comes through sparklingly clear.

“Walk on”, the title track of this album, is about the uncertainty of life’s journey. It is richly arranged with a south of the Mason-Dixon, wall-of-sound kind of feel. Coffey sings the words; “I’ve been beaten down / on the ground / but I’ll pick myself up and / dust off and walk on,” with power and emotion. It’s probably the most relatable song on the record in as far as anyone can identify with its message. Dan Dugmore is a maestro on the pedal steel, and manages to elevate the music of this track to an almost ethereal level.

“Every Thing She Never Wanted” begins with a raucous electronic drum beat you’d find in a Joe Henry song, and then quickly transforms into a full blown country jam. Coffey sings about a woman who’s aspirations don’t include settling down and starting a family. Well, it happens anyway and she is elated to discover that she couldn’t imagine life any other way. This up-beat song has the potential to become a dance floor staple in country western bars from coast to coast.

“It”, a song about a housewife’s unsatisfied appetite for intimacy with her husband, is a real toe-tapper. The man in this song comes home at the end of the day and wants to lounge in front of the TV, but the gal has a different idea. I found this track interesting for the simple reason that traditionally the rolls are reversed; the guy wants some lovin’ but his best lady has a headache. Gordon Kennedy’s electric guitar playing injects just a touch of rock/pop into this shuffling country ditty.

Upon listening to the entire album it became clear to me that Kellie Coffey writes songs for the female country fan. She primarily deals with the subject of being a housewife and a mother. There was no one song that made me want to fall in love with her, nor anything that broke my heart. To her credit, she avoids anything remotely political or religious; everything on this offering is personal - like we’re old friends who met for lunch and did a little catching up.

Well I can’t say I’m a total convert, but I feel like I’m beginning to get country music. The musicians featured on this album are many, and they’re doing some great stuff here. I’ll keep an ear out for Kellie Coffey, and I hope that next time she delivers that heart-breaking love song my soul is longing for.

Reviewed - July 25, 2007

Tracks:

01. Walk On
02. When Pigs Fly
03. Everything She Never Wanted
04. Strong Enough To Cry
05. I Would Die For That
06. I Thought I Knew You Well
07. Bandwagon
08. It
09. Everywhere
10. I Had A Dream
11. Proud Of Me
12. There You Go Again

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck - http://www.muzikreviews.com.