Lizzy Long “Blueberry Pie” Album Review

Prime Cuts: Blueberry Pie, Love I'm in Love (Featuring Ernie Haase & Signature Sound), Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)

When Lizzy Long sings, she can evoke a palate of emotions.  Not since Alison Krauss or Kristyn Getty has there been a voice like Long's.  Possessing a sweet backwoods soprano that gushes with crystal clear Appalachian timbre, Long has a voice that can soothe like a healing balm and beguile the brawniest of hearts.  And adding patency to such a vocal charm is her delightful Southern charm.  Listening to Long is an unforgettable treat in itself; one could put her on repeat copiously and never get tired of her honeyed voice.  "Blueberry Pie," released under Wayne Haun and Kevin Ward's Vine Records, is Long's debut solo record.  

However, Long is by no means a rookie.  This Christian bluegrass chanteuse came on the scene when legends Earl Scruggs and Little Roy Lewis combined forces with this young talent to record the trio project, "Lifetimes." With the sales and radio success of that award winning effort, she and Lewis began touring as The Little Roy & Lizzy Show. Over the past 5 years they have accumulated many nominations and awards, gaining thousands of fans. Now, Lizzy steps into the spotlight to present her first solo work. "Blueberry Pie" is brand new collection of originals and classics and the record also boasts stalwarts such as Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound adding their indubitable vocal and instrumental touches to it.

Lyrically, Long trawls her net far and wide: on these 10 cuts, you will find her singing about faith, God, family, romance and life.  Title cut "Blueberry Pie" gets into the female mystic allowing us an insider's perspective of why some women fall for guys who appear unemotional, hard, and glacial on the outside.  And Long sings with so much sensitivity and verve that no brumal fortitude can ever withstand her crystalline voice.  Mary Poppin's "Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)" is just plain gorgeous.  But for us Millennials, a quick vocab update is inevitable:  tuppence is simply a British two decimal coin.  The song, which first appeared in the 1964 motion picture Mary Poppins, speaks of an old beggar woman sitting on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, selling bags of breadcrumbs to passers-by for tuppence a bag so that they can feed the many pigeons which surround the old woman.

Bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent joins Long on the somehow draggy string-laden "God is There," which is passable without being exceptional.  While Ernie Hasse & Signature Sound add harmony on the ultra-romantic upbeat "Love I'm in Love." The Wayne Haun co-write "Figueroa Mountain" and  Carl Jackson's "Communication Breakdown" display some sublime lightning speed fiddling, a thrilling fleet for any bluegrass purist. In an absolutely rustic tradition is "Love is a Mountain Road."  Just as picturesque as the mountain road, Long makes each observation in the song sound three dimensional.  If you enjoy a voice that can rattle the soul with her thoughtful nuances and her angelic flair, don't miss Lizzy Long's "Blueberry Pie."  Just as enticing as a blueberry pie is, so is this album.

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