Release Notes

Bible Belt [PA]: Release Notes: Muze 
Diane Birch.Personnel: Sumyia Dabney, Jose Moro, Cole Williams, Bobby Jay and the Hawks, Eugene Pitt, Joel Katz, Betty Wright (vocals, hand claps); Michael Longoria (vocals); John McCurry (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Angelo Morris (electric guitar, acoustic bass); Fionn O Lochlainn, Lenny Kaye (electric guitar); Eva Burmeister, Kuan Cheng Lu, Liza Lim, Jenny Strenger, Tomas K. Carney, Annaliesa Place, Sarah OBoyle, Jung Sun Yoo, Karen Marx, Arnaud Sussman, Minyoung Chang, Sandra Park, Lisa Kim, Suzanne Ornstein, Shan Jiang (violin); Michael Roth, Dawn Hannay, Daniel Panner, David Creswell, Desiree Elsevier, Vivek Kamath (viola); Eileen Moon, Sumire Kudo, Wei Hong Yu, Eugene Briskin, Jeanne LeBlanc, Sophie Shao, Mary Wooten (cello); Lenny Pickett, Lou Marini (saxophone); Jim Hines, Frank London (trumpet); Tom "Bones" Malone (flugelhorn, trombone); Erik Ralske, Phil Myers (horns); Stanton Moore (drums, percussion); Cindy Blackman (drums); Shannon Powell (tambourine); Steve Greenberg (hand claps).Producers: Mike Mangini; Steve Greenberg; Betty Wright.Engineers: Howard Beno; Sheldon Steiger; Steve Greenwell.Audio Mixers: Howard Beno; Mike Mangini ; Steve Greenwell.Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Chung King Studios, New York, NY; Clinton Recording Studios, New York, NY; Mojo Studios, New York, NY; Piety Street Studios, New Orleans, LA; Sear Sound Studios, New York, NY; Stevestudio, New York, NY.Photographers: Melodie McDaniel; Tim Ives.It's hard to imagine a more desirable item on a singer/songwriter's resume than growing up as the child of a traveling preacher, which is indeed Diane Birch's oft-repeated backstory. The most significant thing about Birch, though, is her love of late-'60s/early-'70s folk, pop, and soul, which comes through loud and clear on her debut album, BIBLE BELT. The singer/pianist's bell-clear voice tugs gently at your ear as her tunes echo the likes of Carole King, Elton John, and Carly Simon. The production team behind Joss Stone is at work here as well, and they know just how to make a roots-worshipping young woman sound totally contemporary.With its white suburban soul and pleasant, midtempo pop, Diane Birch's debut sounds like a relic from the `70s singer/songwriter era. Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King are obvious touchstones here, and the twentysomething Birch (who wasn't born until the mid-`80s) approximates their vintage flair by aligning herself with the likes of R&B singer Betty Wright and producer Steve Greenberg, both of whom helped launch Joss Stone's career several years prior. While Stone's debut focused on the sheer power of her vocals, however, Bible Belt functions instead as a showcase for Birch's songwriting. She pens every song here -- a marked difference from Stone, who performed cover songs on her own debut -- and sings them with understated grace, adding a touch of grit to the sustained high notes of "Fire Escape" and some coffeehouse sass to the sprightly "Valentino." Few rookie songwriters play to their strengths this well, and that's the charm of this record, which doesn't blow your socks off as much as whet your appetite to fill your glass, recline your chair, and enjoy the record from start to finish. ~ Andrew Leahey

Credits

Performer Birch,Diane , Diane Birch