the queen wishes you well
(or: june 7’s honey from the hive)
posted at 5:42 am by brandon in sweet you rock and sweet you roll
Matraca Berg — “A Cold, Rainy Morning in London in June”
(from The Dreaming Fields
The glorious Berg didn’t stumble into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame by accident, and indeed, the only thing more mind-blowing than the breadth of her brilliant oeuvre — Patty Loveless’ “You Can Feel Bad,” Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine,” Martina McBride’s “Wild Angels,” and a goodly chunk of Trisha Yearwood’s entire discography (to name just a few!) all originated from her hot little pen — is the fact that the industry unto which she has delivered classic smash after classic smash writing for others has so stubbornly and steadfastly refused to allow Berg the success she has so richly earned as her own woman. It figures, of course: Miss Loretta notwithstanding, Nashville has largely and historically not been commercially kind to songbirds who have the gumption and gall to write their own words unless they are forced to by the vagaries of DNA (see: Rosanne Cash) or otherwise happen to find themselves caught up in a full-fledged fluke (see: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gretchen Wilson, both of whom got shunted beyond the palace walls as soon as possible). Berg is back with her fourth album, the deeply engrossing Dreaming Fields, and while its heavy complement of downbeat tunes — Matraca specializes in these kinds of unassuming, divinely depressing slice-of-life narratives — very nearly ensures that superstardom will again have to wait, it stands as a new personal best in a body of work that far too many have let pass unnoticed.
