I don’t think it is legal to make bad music in Nashville. It sounds seriously wrong. Brian Allison makes amazing music, so in that regard, he’s safe from the authorities.
The married man, a father of 4, has been a full-time professional musician for 6 years. His music is essentially Americana. Soulful Americana with heavy leanings on Country and Folk. Sweet Marie is delightfully all of this.
Brian wrote Sweet Marie with his sister Amy. The words are about a girl growing without a father, and how this challenges her later in life, and for anyone who’s lost their fathers or grew without one, it is a deeply touching, poetic song, handled with a gentleman’s tact. Calculated, comforting, honest, and ultimately positive. The glass is definitely half-full in Sweet Marie’s arrangement. the booming drums, slow, inviting tempo, and gentle, lilting composition that moves surely and reassuringly. The highlight is, without a shadow of doubt, Brian Allison’s haunting vocal delivery. A talented singer in all aspects, his reach, accuracy, and feel are all stunning, and his performance is perfectly in tune with what the song needs. A true professional. Also, this never get said enough, but the world is in dire need of more Banjo.
Sweet Marie is essentially what Americana should sound and feel like. Touching, reassuring, yet honest, and real. A hauntingly gorgeous song.
