Rolling Stone
Ana Egge 'Road To My Love'
Lucinda Williams once called her "a folk Nina Simone." But Ana Egge is more country than that. Raised by hippies who grew wheat in North Dakota, the Brooklyn singer–songwriter crafts homespun hymns on her sixth disc to sing with your bare feet on the dashboard. "Bully of New York" recounts a sad late–night conversation between Egge and a park ranger whose hours broke up his marriage (best part: She met him while hitchhiking). Egge's rootsy pedal–steel pop recalls singers like Shawn Colvin, but her sharply observed tales of the overlooked and underpaid feel utterly of the moment.
THREE STARS
MELISSA MAERZ
Influences
Records: 'Vietnam Blues'- JB Lenoir, 'Capitol Years'- Lonnie Johnson, T Bone Walker- 'Complete Capitol', 'I can't Stand The Rain' and 'Straight From The Heart'-Ann Peebles
I've been inspired by the amazing songwriters and musicians that I've worked with on the road over the past 11 years. Iris Dement, Lucinda Williams, Ron Sexsmith, John Prine, James McMurtry, Steve James, Eliza Gylkison, Richard Thompson, Terry Allen, Joan Armatrading, Shawn Colvin, The Flatlanders, George Jones ....
Other musical influences - Randy Newman, Etta James, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers, Tom Petty, Elliot Smith, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, JB Lenoir, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Kristen Hall, Joni Mitchell, Townes Van Zandt, David Byrne, Dolly Parton , Mississippi John Hurt, Ray Charles, The Dead, Stephen Stills, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman
Favorite Writers- Ralph Ellison, Anne Carson, Philip Roth, Flannery O'Connor, Larry McMurtry, Wislawa Szymborska , Annie Proulx, Louise Erdrich, Willa Cather, Cormac McCarthy, "Gravity and Grace" -by Simone Weil
Sounds Like
"New York's Ana Egge stole the show, and perhaps the entire festival. Egge throws back a shot of tequila with the same effortlessness she delivers her stunning melodies with her breathy, sultry voice and towering stage presence."
-Shannon Webb-Campbell, Chart Magazine~DEAD OF WINTER FESTIVAL, Halifax, NS Canada 1/29/09
"Ana has the rare gift of being so eloquent and simple
that she takes your breath away. I just love her."
-SHAWN COLVIN
"Ana's an exceptional songwriter, listen to the lyrics...the folk Nina Simone!"
-LUCINDA WILLIAMS
"Ana has one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard
and her songs are beautiful and refreshingly original."
-RON SEXSMITH
Many talented musicians have recorded Ana's songs, including Slaid Cleaves "Fairest Of Them All", Bayou Seco "Fierro" and both Laurie Lewis and Dave Alvin have recorded "River Under The Road" -cowritten by Ana Egge, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Sarah Brown.
A folk singer with the guts for the job:
Folk music has long enjoyed a powerful association with social consciousness. A lot of gifted folk singers seem too fragile or precious for the burden of their work. Not so with Ana Egge, confessing loneliness without shame in the melodious Sailor, tackling patriotism without pride in the symphonic country of City of Liberty, and nailing Red-State/Blue-State disconnect on rollicking gem, Wedding Dress on her self-made guitar.- PASTE Magazine
VISIT HER RECORD STORE TO HEAR MORE
www.IndieKazoo.com/anaegge
"RIVER UNDER THE ROAD" - 1997
featuring members of Asleep At The Wheel
"MILE MARKER" - 1999
Live Solo, released the year she won Best Folk and
Best Singer-Songwriter at the Austin Music Awards
"101 SUNDAYS" - 2000
Recorded in London, Produced by Martin Terefe
and Claus Bjorkland
"OUT PAST THE LIGHTS" - 2004
"I love everything about 'Out Past The Lights' -the songs, the playing, the production, the way it was recorded...wonderful record...beautiful work."-BUDDY MILLER
"LAZY DAYS" - 2007
A concept album of cover songs about laziness. Featuring an all-star NYC band including Anton Fier, Tony Scherr, Jane Scarpantoni, Shane Endsley, Teddy Kumpel, Chris Brown, and Jason Mercer.
"ROAD TO MY LOVE" - 2009
BOOKING USA:
Laura Thomas
Combo Plate
512.423.7667
laura@comboplatebooking.com
HOLLAND:
Sandra & Luciano
Benelux Booking, Lucky Dice Music
Sandra@luckydice.nl
ANA EGGE/Lazy Days: Building her own career much the same way she built her own guitar and built her own house, Egge takes time off from writing her own material to play tribute to chilling out. Fittingly, this covers album took three years to make as she left the comforts of the southwest and headed off to Brooklyn where this set took shape. Pulling songs from diverse sectors and making them all her own, this is the kind of set that could give the rest of the world time to catch up with this under the radar folk superstar. Enjoyed by the heavy hitters she rubs elbows with already, if you don't know her yet, this is a fine entry for you and to stop to her pals from knowing something you don't know. Wouldn't you like to hear something that sounds like the middle of summer now that winter's moving in? Check it out.
http://www.midwestrecord.com/2007/12/18/121807/
Volume 31/Number 48
December 18, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
CHRIS SPECTOR
Ana Egge, Out Past the Lights (catching up, out some time ago): I liked Egge's tribute album to sloth, Lazy Days, so much that I bought this older album of originals, and it's consistently excellent as well. One of the things that drive me crazy about critics in general is the blizzard of press raves and blogorrhea devoted to undeserving, ultrasensitive or quirky female singer/songwriters such as Regina Spector, Fiona Apple, Nellie McKay, even Colbie Caillat while there are hordes of female s/s's that can write and sing rings around them and get little or no attention. This cranky resentment of mine goes back to the neglect of Aimee Mann or Barbara Manning, but applies equally well today to Egge or (see below) Missy Higgins. I would love to demonstrate solidarity with my beleaguered critical brethren, but not when their tastes are so persistently lame. -Ken Barnes, USA TODAY
Its nice to see you sounding as lovely as ever - at that recent Deep Roots thing posted on You Tube - nice bright spot in this corporate media assassination they're doing to Obama.
Dear Ana, I was so happy to see a couple of your video's on my friend Milli's blog about you...and have also enjoyed your music and vids here on your page...I think you are quite wonderful and have instantly fallen in love with your music...you truly shine girl, like the sun warming the earth in the early of the day, you have warmed my musical heart :)
hi Ana! downloadin' 'road to my love' as i type from amiestreet dot com which will make three ana egge albums to my collection, can't get enough, love your new video 'morning', blogged it! you're the best! lots of love, milli xo
This month we mostly have Catie Curtis (with a Richard Thompson cover), Lindsay Fuller and The Cheap Dates (and who amongst us isn't?), Josh Fix with a track from the well-titled album This Town Is Starting To Make Me Angry and the rather lovely Red Rooster.