This is one seriously impressive debut album.
Rhiannon Giddens is staking out a solo career after singing and playing with old-timey revivalists Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now she has been rediscovered as a solo singer of power and empathy with celebrated producer T Bone Burnett asking to work with her. The songs she covers equally have a history. If the wonderful country blues, gospel and field hollers predictably reflect her interest in black experience, then her knowing reading of Hank Cochran's She's Got You, made famous by Patsy Cline, indicates a wider knowledge of America. Ditto with the traditional folk choices.
The surprise centrepiece is the European ballad, Tomorrow Is My Turn, though its history in the Nina Simone songbook is the reference here. Giddens's version is restrained but pointed as well. She closes with her own Angel City, a sensitive take on a stony path to – hopefully – a happier future.
Tomorrow is My Turn is out Friday Feb 6th
For more see: rhiannongiddens.com
