One of the added bonuses of our trip to The Oak Live was that it allowed us to catch a couple of rounds before the one we had actually intended to see. The first one we joined mid way through round two, a bit late for a proper live review but such was the performance from Stephanie Ryann that it seemed a good time for a belated review of a couple of her singles that she played on the night.
A former volunteer firefighter turned fashion model turned country artist, it is a sign of how hard it is to get noticed that this chance meeting was our first encounter with Stephanie. “Naked” although the cover picture may cause you to think otherwise, ( it is undoubtedly attention grabbing) is more to do with being open with someone , leaving yourself bare in a totally different context - in fact the song is about Stephanie wanting to see someone else bare their inner soul so the cover is double misleading but on this occasion we'll let that pass.
"Naked" is a little pop country gem, sounding polished with an overall big sound, yet when you actually listen carefully it is pardon the pun actually quite stripped back, with two guitars ( acoustic and electric ) doing the major part of creating the atmosphere required. There's some light percussion and atmospherics, the undoubted star of the show is Stephanie who gently purrs over the opening verse
"I know I could love your cowboy heart
A little bit dusty, a little dark
But there's more to you beneath that denim pearl smile
You're the kind of man that's gonna guard
Everything that makes you who you are
But that's the part of you I want to look at"
The chorus is irresistible, it's punchy, catchy and sees the band build their overall sound by beefing up the percussion
""Let me take it off piece by piece - I want to see what's hiding underneath
Those scars and bruises, no excuses - show me you ain't bulletproof
Let me into your deep unknown, I want to know you, love you, bare bones
All of you stripped down I'll take it - I just want to see you naked!"
It is such a refreshing take on a song and it paints Stephanie in the best of lights as a truly caring sharing individual.
"I know you got skeletons baby I ain't scared of them"
It was fantastic live and the recorded version is equally excellent.
The other song Stephanie played on the night was "In My Bones", The single is a much more rootsy rocking song which allows Stephanie to be more expressive in her lyrics about the freedom life on the open road brings. The opening verse sees the band poodling along in a low gear
"The sun sets over Tennessee
The highway’s calling out to me
Like an old familiar friend calling me home
It echos in the silence
And I’m still searching for advice in
The static on the FM radio
Once the pedal’s down I get the feeling
A Silverado silhouette’s all that I’m leavin’"
The chorus sees the song race into life with a highly prominent pedal steel battling it out with the guitars, organ and percussion. Maintaining overall control are Stephanie's vocals rising in intensity on each line
"Like a tumbleweed in the western wind
Like a vagabond’s always wandering
Just looking for some place I can’t be found
That engine hums like an old six string
Kind of out of tune but it makes me think
How nothing feels as good as getting out
It’s damn good feeling to run these roads
It’s in my blood, it’s in my bones"
The second verse carries forward the volumes from the chorus, while the lyrics again point to a free spirit needing to escape every now and then
The night sky’s my companion
Cause we have an understanding
That darkness is just something we both share
As the cricket choir sings its hymns
Of travelers who’ve been where I’ve been
My crooked straight and narrow looks like theirs"
The bridge all but establishes that this is Stephanie release valve
"All this running’s gonna keep me sane
That’s something that won’t ever change"
Undoubtedly there are many more gems to be unearthed in Stephanie's back catalogue - #TEAMw21 highly recommend that you start mining.