Patty Loveless will bring bring fan favorites and new tracks from "Mountain Soul II" to the Bijou Theatre tonight.

Summary

Country star Patty Loveless discusses latest album and acoustic sound for fall tour

IF YOU GO

Patty Loveless

PERFORMING WITH:
Megan Mullins

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday (Oct. 23)

WHERE: Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville

HOW MUCH: $31.50 plus applicable taxes

CALL: 522-0832

Online Extras:

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Patty Loveless does what comes naturally

By Amanda Greever
of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: October 22. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: October 22. 2009 11:42AM

Patty Loveless would like to welcome you into her home. Or at least make you feel that way.

Hot on the heels of the country star's latest album, "Mountain Soul II" (released Set. 29 from Saguaro Road Records), Loveless has hit the road for a fall tour, which stops in at the Bijou Theatre tonight. She says she's tried to create a different kind of atmosphere with this tour, though.

"We're kind of doing it a little bit different this fall," she said in a phone interview from her home in Georgia. "We have kind of gone more to an acoustic kind of manner of a show."

As Loveless put it, she wants fans to feel as if she's invited them for a sit-down in her living room, creating a comfy and cozy atmosphere. "We're all just there to have a good time together."

Loveless has been pleasing fans with her songs for almost 24 years since the release of her self-titled album in 1986. More than 19 albums later, it's rare to find a country fan that doesn't know her name. Tracks like "Blame It On Your Heart," "Chains," "Timber, I'm Falling in Love," "Try to Think About Elvis," "I'm That Kind of Girl" or "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" made Loveless a regular on country radio and helped earn her multiple accolades, including from the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association, not to mention several Grammys.

"After 19 albums, I'm just going, goodness, and I forgot how many singles and how many songs," she said. "And then there's songs that I share with them that weren't really singles but were on albums. It's really a wonderful experience and hear the response from an audience. Maybe this might be the first time they've ever heard this song."

And with the release of "Mountain Soul" in 2001, Loveless introduced audiences to a more natural, organic sound than what they'd previously heard from her. She followed it up with "Sleepless Nights" in 2008 and now "Mountain Soul II."

"Both of them (Mountain Soul and Mountain Soul II) were cut live, you know, rough around the edges, and of course, it wasn't just like one take," she said.

The two albums found her collaborating with artists like Vince Gill, Del McCoury, Rebecca Lynn, Ricky Skaggs and others.

"The recording at places had the feel of like being in my living room, and that's the same case of what we're trying to present on stage, to make it feel that way," Loveless said. "Very loose and fun and not this tension of of every song has to segue perfectly. It's very organic. It has a very natural feel.

"I'd been working with a lot of these guys and gals over the years, and we were all friends and there have been times when we've been at each other's houses and stuff. So it was kind of a natural kind of thing at the studio, and that's the way it was for the first 'Mountain Soul' record, which had Ricky Skaggs and Jon Randall."

Loveless performed at the Foothills Fall Festival in 2005, sharing the stage with Lonestar and John Michael Montgomery but she noted that sharing a record with artists is simpler than sharing a stage sometimes. She noted that the production of "Mountain Soul II" came very naturally to her and the other artists.

"I think that's the reason that it just worked so well that we had been used to working with each other before, and it felt very relaxed around each other," she said. "And if we made a mistake or there was something that happened, that we were all on each other's sides. There was no pressure.

"There's a lot of pressure that goes into making a record, especially when you're making and trying to come up with music that suits the needs of what the label wants to run with. Saguaro Road Records has been wonderful for me to work with, even on a record such as this and on the last one "Sleepless Nights". That particular record ... a lot of it was cut live."

Both "Mountain Soul" records allow Loveless' vocals to shine amid the bluegrass-tinged tunes, such as "A Handful of Dust," the mournful "Half Over You" or the 1962 classic "Busted." Then there are more traditional gospel tracks, such as "Working on a Building" or "Friends in Gloryland." Loveless also showcases her songwriting talents on "(We Are All) Children of Abraham" and "Big Chance" with husband and producer Emory Gordy Jr. as her collaborator.

"The audience that has been buying my records for a long time are coming to the shows but they are getting to see something a little bit different than I've done in the past," she said. "And also that I'm surprising them with some songs that I haven't done in a long, long time. I mean, not since 1989. ... I think it's giving them something to come out for. And then I feel that maybe I'm gaining some new fans out there."

Loveless said she hates leaving concert-goers disappointed and tries to mix in tunes that long-time fans will recognize and sing along with. She said that recently, some have even shouted requests from the audience and she tries to comply with at least a snippet of the song. She wants the audience to be as connected to her and her music as much as possible.

"That's what I always wanted to do is be able to touch people through music, touch them through song," she said. "And when people come to the show, I just want them to have a good time and feel a part of what's going on up there."