Gillian Welch found a deeper expression of her traditional country sound with the stark and striking stories of her sophomore showing. Her debut album 'Revival' was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and established her as one of the rising stars in country music.
'Hell Among the Yearlings' was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys, CA; Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, CA; Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN; MCA Music Studio in Nashville, TN; and at their own Woodland Sound Studios at a historic building that they bought in Nashville. The stripped down sessions utilized analog equipment to avoid an over-produced digital sound and featured only Gillian Welch on vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, kick drum, and banjo; David Rawlings on vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, and snare drum; T-Bone Burnett on piano and Hammond B-3 organ.
Welch describes her approach to her music: "I think people look at the way we present ourselves, and they are lulled by our acoustic demeanor into assuming that we are more old time and traditional than we are. I don't think that our music is that traditional at all, really. There is a lot of stuff going on that isn't with the Carter Family. We grew up listening to Neil Young, so it'll never be as pure as the Carter Family. The songs are different. Even though I work in that older format, what's actually going on, the story and the subject matter and the emotional tone are very modern to me. I can't tell anyone else how to react to it. My god, the stuff that David is doing, it's not traditional at all. It's all a question of degree. If we change one note, we hear it as not traditional. We're playing acoustic instruments. If we were playing through amplifiers with the very same notes, you would change your mind...We play as an acoustic duet, and so it's hard to pin down. When you flesh it out as a band, it's a little easier to categorize. Maybe we're just pigeon-holed as Appalachian traditional. If you add a banjo and a fiddle, we're bluegrass. Add a bass and drums, and we're in that alternative country thing...Dave and I both have a super aversion to picking up a studio band, or studio musicians. We're both really band oriented. If they're not going to go out on the road with you and live with you then I don't want to make the record with them. We have really had to work to keep the side musicians at bay. They are everywhere, and those slide guitar players just beg us to put a few licks into our songs. Talk about getting on the radio and selling records. [laughs] That's just like the quick recipe for greater commercial appeal, so screw it."
'Hell Among the Yearlings' cantered to number one hundred and eighty one on the Billboard 200 album chart, nine on their Heatseekers chart, and number two on the FolkDJ-L Folk Radio Airplay chart. The dark subject matter of rape, murder, drugs, and mining disasters made separated her from the bulk of other songwriters in the country genre.
http://www.gillianwelch.com/
"Good Til Now" – 3:56
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFmFVjnsfbs
"The Devil Had a Hold of Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhuFVzCfdxU
"My Morphine" – 5:53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2SKAXcrt4
"One Morning" – 2:41
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzfy_pFjiOE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX3mi2L8pi4
"Miner's Refrain" – 3:57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmrcbic9n38
"Honey Now" – 1:52
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z7kNipzTbk
"I'm Not Afraid to Die" – 3:27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgaQLaHM6Vw
"Rock of Ages" – 3:08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md0TuAd_NOE
"Winter's Come and Gone" – 2:14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4WwYh8Vifo
'Hell Among the Yearlings'
full album:
All the songs on the album are written by Welch and David Rawlings
"Caleb Meyer" – 3:05
"Good Til Now" – 3:56
"The Devil Had a Hold of Me" – 4:30
"My Morphine" – 5:53
"One Morning" – 2:41
"Miner's Refrain" – 3:57
"Honey Now" – 1:52
"I'm Not Afraid to Die" – 3:27
"Rock of Ages" – 3:08
"Whiskey Girl" – 4:15
"Winter's Come and Gone" – 2:14
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