Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart

Sep/Oct 2005
Reviews
Rants & Faves
Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart

S & M Communion Bread

Funzalo
By Pamela Murray Winters
S & M Communion Bread—the title and cover photo come from a bakery building in Nashville—portrays a world of clock-tower bells, watches, trains, and other sepia-toned images of life’s transcendence. It’s also got an innocence so deep you might suppose that Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart were drawn more to their own initials on that bakery sign than to any double entendre. The mystery of “Up in Annie’s Room” might well be sexual: “I know I heard ’em through the ceiling,” Earle gossips, in her throaty yet girly voice. “I heard ’em there late last night.” But the duo seems content to stay downstairs. “Around the Back” evokes Robert Johnson’s “Come on in My Kitchen,” but ultimately it’s just about a neighborly chat, whatever those blue guitars may be murmuring behind the singers’ backs. Earle and Stuart’s relentless niceness, like Victoria Williams’, never becomes cloying, partly because they’re so darn good at so many musical forms, from the perky swing of “Are You Ready?” to the lite-gutbucket blues of “Around the Back” to the piano-based hymn “When I Walk Alone.” And if you don’t tear up by the end of Stuart’s magnificent soldier story “The Old Watch,” you just aren’t hanging out with the right musical genre.
- Harp (Words On Music)

Sep/Oct 2005
Reviews
Rants & Faves
Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart

S & M Communion Bread

Funzalo
By Pamela Murray Winters
S & M Communion Bread—the title and cover photo come from a bakery building in Nashville—portrays a world of clock-tower bells, watches, trains, and other sepia-toned images of life’s transcendence. It’s also got an innocence so deep you might suppose that Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart were drawn more to their own initials on that bakery sign than to any double entendre. The mystery of “Up in Annie’s Room” might well be sexual: “I know I heard ’em through the ceiling,” Earle gossips, in her throaty yet girly voice. “I heard ’em there late last night.” But the duo seems content to stay downstairs. “Around the Back” evokes Robert Johnson’s “Come on in My Kitchen,” but ultimately it’s just about a neighborly chat, whatever those blue guitars may be murmuring behind the singers’ backs. Earle and Stuart’s relentless niceness, like Victoria Williams’, never becomes cloying, partly because they’re so darn good at so many musical forms, from the perky swing of “Are You Ready?” to the lite-gutbucket blues of “Around the Back” to the piano-based hymn “When I Walk Alone.” And if you don’t tear up by the end of Stuart’s magnificent soldier story “The Old Watch,” you just aren’t hanging out with the right musical genre.
- Harp (Words On Music)

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
S&M Communion Bread, 2005
Funzalo
It's been virtually obligatory for the last few years of mentioning within the first three sentences of any review of her work that, yes, Stacey Earle is the sister of Steve Earle, but this latest release with husband Mark Stuart continues to embellish her reputation as a distinctive and remarkable artist in her own right. Part of her charm - and she is nearly irresistible - is that she's almost impossible to pin any one label on. Alt.-country, straight-up-hard-core-country, folk, singer-songwriter, Americana - all of these and more hit the mark at one point or another in her catalog.
Describing Earle's lyrics and vocals as "quirky" may not strike some as particularly positive, but it's the best available word for writing, phrasing and delivery not found in any A & R stylebook, yet completely captivating on songs like "Up In Annie's Room," "Around The Back" and "Oh, Well."
And Stuart, for his part, is far from a hanger-on or an afterthought. He's a compelling vocal and songwriting partner, and his instrumental tribute to Merle Travis ("Walkin' With Travis") makes for a refreshing change of pace. It may not ever become common to refer to Steve as "Stacey's brother," but she's well out of his shadow at this point. (Funzalo, Box 35880, Tucson, AZ 85740)
- John Lupton - 2005 Review

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
S&M Communion Bread, 2005
Funzalo
It's been virtually obligatory for the last few years of mentioning within the first three sentences of any review of her work that, yes, Stacey Earle is the sister of Steve Earle, but this latest release with husband Mark Stuart continues to embellish her reputation as a distinctive and remarkable artist in her own right. Part of her charm - and she is nearly irresistible - is that she's almost impossible to pin any one label on. Alt.-country, straight-up-hard-core-country, folk, singer-songwriter, Americana - all of these and more hit the mark at one point or another in her catalog.
Describing Earle's lyrics and vocals as "quirky" may not strike some as particularly positive, but it's the best available word for writing, phrasing and delivery not found in any A & R stylebook, yet completely captivating on songs like "Up In Annie's Room," "Around The Back" and "Oh, Well."
And Stuart, for his part, is far from a hanger-on or an afterthought. He's a compelling vocal and songwriting partner, and his instrumental tribute to Merle Travis ("Walkin' With Travis") makes for a refreshing change of pace. It may not ever become common to refer to Steve as "Stacey's brother," but she's well out of his shadow at this point. (Funzalo, Box 35880, Tucson, AZ 85740)
- John Lupton - 2005 Review

Clearly a title like S&M Communion Bread by Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart

is meant to raise eyebrows and perhaps incite a chuckle or two. But by the

album's first song, "Up in Annie's Room," all the humor is gone. As

visitors climb Annie's stairs all night and the chandeliers shake, the

young narrator knows that something isn't quite right. The dark mood

hardly lifts on "The Old Watch," a song that revolves around the gift of a

watch by a friend who has left to fight in a war. This is an antiwar song,

though in a very subtle way, and while it's not specifically aimed at the

current U.S. war in Iraq, it isn't hard to infer the lyric's disapproval.

In just a few songs, then, S&M Communion Bread paints a rather bleak

portrait of the world, so it's something of a relief with Earle sings lead

on "Are You Ready?," a somewhat melancholy lyric saved by nifty guitar

work and a nice, jazzy riff. Both Earle and Stuart are fine lead singers

(though she sings most of the leads), with her voice ranging from light to

terse, and his more country. Together on the choruses, the pair creates a

lovely blend that adds another emotional layer to each song. S&M Communion

Bread ends with a true a cappella duet on the traditional "The Old Gospel

Ship," a fitting end to an engaging, though occasionally dark, album. ~


- All Music Guide 2005

Clearly a title like S&M Communion Bread by Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart

is meant to raise eyebrows and perhaps incite a chuckle or two. But by the

album's first song, "Up in Annie's Room," all the humor is gone. As

visitors climb Annie's stairs all night and the chandeliers shake, the

young narrator knows that something isn't quite right. The dark mood

hardly lifts on "The Old Watch," a song that revolves around the gift of a

watch by a friend who has left to fight in a war. This is an antiwar song,

though in a very subtle way, and while it's not specifically aimed at the

current U.S. war in Iraq, it isn't hard to infer the lyric's disapproval.

In just a few songs, then, S&M Communion Bread paints a rather bleak

portrait of the world, so it's something of a relief with Earle sings lead

on "Are You Ready?," a somewhat melancholy lyric saved by nifty guitar

work and a nice, jazzy riff. Both Earle and Stuart are fine lead singers

(though she sings most of the leads), with her voice ranging from light to

terse, and his more country. Together on the choruses, the pair creates a

lovely blend that adds another emotional layer to each song. S&M Communion

Bread ends with a true a cappella duet on the traditional "The Old Gospel

Ship," a fitting end to an engaging, though occasionally dark, album. ~


- All Music Guide 2005

Though Stacey Earle is most often referenced as the younger sister of outspoken singer/songwriter Steve, the younger Earle's singing/songwriting capabilities are nothing to gloss over. With modern country stars shilling glitz and patriotism, Earle and husband Mark Stuart create the kind of smart, intimate, lived-in version of Americana that's an endangered pleasure these days.

Their third album together, S&M Communion Bread, seamlessly blends folk, country and a hint of gospel. "The Old Watch" is a great tearjerker sung by Stuart in which an old friend goes off to war, leaving behind his cherished timepiece. "Up In Annie's Room" is a stomping, folk/bluegrass tune in the vein of Billy Bragg and Wilco's Mermaid Avenue lot, while "Around the Back" is a sly, suggestive blues song reminiscent of elder Earle mentor Townes Van Zandt.

Many of these songs don't so much spell out religion or spirituality as they simply hearken back to a time when weekend radio programs were a platform for both the country's Bible-toters and hell-raisers. Appropriate, then, that the album ends with an a cappella rendition of "The Old Gospel Ship," Earle and Stuart's haggard voices belting out the Appalachian standard..

Due to its limited availability on small indie Funzalo, S&M Communion Bread will have to be sought out by those who easily obtained a copy of (Steve's) Transcendental Blues or The Mountain. It's well worth the effort, however, for this most rewarding listen.
- July 13th Creative Loafing-Atlanta GA.

Though Stacey Earle is most often referenced as the younger sister of outspoken singer/songwriter Steve, the younger Earle's singing/songwriting capabilities are nothing to gloss over. With modern country stars shilling glitz and patriotism, Earle and husband Mark Stuart create the kind of smart, intimate, lived-in version of Americana that's an endangered pleasure these days.

Their third album together, S&M Communion Bread, seamlessly blends folk, country and a hint of gospel. "The Old Watch" is a great tearjerker sung by Stuart in which an old friend goes off to war, leaving behind his cherished timepiece. "Up In Annie's Room" is a stomping, folk/bluegrass tune in the vein of Billy Bragg and Wilco's Mermaid Avenue lot, while "Around the Back" is a sly, suggestive blues song reminiscent of elder Earle mentor Townes Van Zandt.

Many of these songs don't so much spell out religion or spirituality as they simply hearken back to a time when weekend radio programs were a platform for both the country's Bible-toters and hell-raisers. Appropriate, then, that the album ends with an a cappella rendition of "The Old Gospel Ship," Earle and Stuart's haggard voices belting out the Appalachian standard..

Due to its limited availability on small indie Funzalo, S&M Communion Bread will have to be sought out by those who easily obtained a copy of (Steve's) Transcendental Blues or The Mountain. It's well worth the effort, however, for this most rewarding listen.
- July 13th Creative Loafing-Atlanta GA.