BUDDY & JULIE MILLER – WRITTEN IN CHALK

“Take me back / When times were hard and we didn’t know it / If we et (ate) / We had to grow it” – he may sound like an extra from Beverley Hillbillies (to us), and it may sound like a sentiment to match, but Buddy Miller has a knack for the simple and the undeniable. As guitarist for the likes of Emmy-Lou Harris, Miller’s distinct guitar playing style and production touches have bedded much of the country-revival of the last decade. Returning the favour Emmy-Lou, Matt Rollins, Brady Blade, Matt Rollings, the McCrary sisters head an impressive list of “friends” who dropped by. The sublime Patty Griffin lends her voice to the heart-breaking Don’t Say Goodbye, while Robert Plant teams surprisingly well with Buddy on What You Gonna Do Leroy. Wife Julie may have a lower profile, but she has penned 8 of the 12 songs here proving her voice the equal of her husband,  her touch and songwriting feel integral to the success of Written in Chalk. This is the real roots deal, as authentic as a steaming apple-pie cooling on the window-still on a cold Appalachian afternoon.

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