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Track List Sometimes |
Susanna Van Tassel: My Little Star (The Music Room) Santa Rosa, California native Susanna Van Tassel moved to Austin in 1995, and has since made a name for herself on the honky tonky circuit. She possesses a pure, crystalline soprano, slightly reminiscent of Rosie Flores, and writes her own songs that range from waltzes and slow shuffles, to two steppers. On My Little Star, Susanne enlists a long 'A' list of Austin's finest, that includes Jim Stringer (who also produced), Casper Rawls, Marty Muse, David Sanger, Cindy Cashdollar, Roger Wallace, Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison and Tommy Detamore to just name a few.
Susanna wrote all the tracks on My
Little Star, except for one cover, Mel Tillis' "Unmitigated
Gall," and here she delivers the humor of the song with a good measure
of sass. Her humorous side pops up again with the two stepping, tongue
in cheek "Domestic Bliss" poking good natured fun at some of the
"joys" of marriage. The disc opens with the up-tempo "Sometimes" that
deals with a woman caught up in emotional conflicts. "Closing Time" is
a honky tonky shuffle, while "On The Hill," which reflects on how
a familiar sound can open the door to old memories, has a more laid
back two step beat.
The slower numbers include the romantic
slow shuffle, "More Than Enough." She tosses in a few waltzes. "The
Morning" laments how a romance that looked so good in the night, looks
very different when the sun comes up, the acoustic "I Had A
Feeling" about running into an old love, and "Little Star," a lullaby
she wrote for her infant son.
"Taking My Time," is a slow, bluesy
proclamation from a woman in no rush to settle down into a love
relationship. Love slowly slipping away is addressed in the acoustic,
rustic sound of "It's A Fine Line." The disc closes with
the rousing "A Love That's True," an upbeat song with a surfer beat,
that asks to take a chance of love.
Susanna writes songs that stick to subject
matter familiar to her, primarily family and love, and her songs are
mostly upbeat, but she carefully avoids clichés, and shows a pretty
good streak of humor, making her a strong songwriter. She doesn't have
a "big" voice, it's more of a "sweet" one, but she's more than capable
of delivering emotion, whether it's sass, ache or exuberant joy.
Susanna Van Tassel is a rising star in a field where too few women
these days tread - into the land of honky tonk.
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AnnMarie
Harrington
Take Country Back January 2003