In 1985, four male country superstars – Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson – teamed up to make their first album as The Highwaymen. The group took their name from a song by Jimmy Webb, and the quartet also covered tracks by Guy Clark and John Prine.
Amanda Shires created a female quartet in homage to The Highwaymen, and to help female artists to gain more airplay on country radio.
“I was inspired by my daughter, I think, because she was starting to show signs of wanting to play music maybe when she grows up. I thought the worst thing that could happen is she would go for country because there are only currently two women’s voices that you can actually hear.”
Amanda Shires, on Ellen
She recruited powerful vocalist Brandi Carlile and rising star Maren Morris. The quartet was completed by Natalie Hemby, perhaps better known for writing songs for Little Big Town and Miranda Lambert.
The quartet debuted at Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday concert in April 2019, and announced their debut album. Like The Highwaymen, they use Jimmy Webb’s song as the lead-off track. With Webb’s blessing, the verses are adapted to a female perspective – guest vocalist Yola’s verse is about the civil rights activists The Freedom Riders. Here’s a live version, with Yola, Sheryl Crow on backing vocals, and Shires’ husband, Jason Isbell, on lead guitar.
The Highwomen aren’t the first female country super-group of the decade – precedents include Lambert’s Pistol Annies and the 2016 collaborative record between Neko Case, K.D. Lang, and Laura Veirs. But the stakes are higher for The Highwomen with their choice of name. It’s clear the four Highwomen don’t have the profile of their male counterparts, but The Highwomen is a very strong collaborative record.
The timeless production from Dave Cobb is an asset, and the record is book-ended by two vintage sounding songs – opening with ‘Highwomen’, and closing with Carlile’s ‘Wheels of Laredo’. With its organ intro and evocative Texas imagery it sounds like an old country chestnut, and it was covered by Tanya Tucker shortly before the album release.
In between, the members each have a chance to shine; Hemby was The Highwoman who I wasn’t familiar with before the album’s release, but she’s impressive here. She penned the group singalong ‘Redesigning Women’ – one of the albums’ weaker songs, but it neatly summarises their mission. Hemby also fronts the beautiful ‘My Only Child’, which also showcases Shire’s beautiful fiddle playing. Shires’ ‘Cocktail and a Song’ addresses mortality, and it’s also among the strongest songs here.
The Highwomen draws attention to four talented artists who are struggling for attention in a world of bro-country and big hats. The Highwomen might just be too classy for mainstream country radio in the US, but it features some of my favourite songs of the year.
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I actually really liked a lot of this album. And I’m quite particular about my Country. I like it musty… or at least, faux musty.
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Yeah, most of it’s really good. Production helps. What’s your favourite song on it?
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I think the opening track is my favourite.
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Have you heard the song before? I’m very partial to Jimmy Webb and Paddy McAloon’s version from the early 1990s.
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No! Didn’t know this was a cover.
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https://albumreviews.blog/2017/12/31/the-highwayman-by-paddy-mcaloon-and-jimmy-webb/
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I heard Redesigning Women a while back because I read an article that Tanya Tucker was in the video. They sound like…what I call real country and not southern rock/pop modern country.
Love the songs you have here.
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I like the female perspective on it – no men bashing but lots of songs about family.
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Yes positive is nice. I rarely go see country acts but I will be on the look out for them.
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I imagine it would be cool. I like Carlile’s album from last year a lot too.
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Sounds promising – and I like that they debuted at Loretta’s birthday!
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They’re much more like what you’d expect country to sound like if you’d grown up with Loretta Lynn.
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And that’s my kind of country!
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I’m very interested in this one, but haven’t checked it out yet. Proper well written country tunes, though… cannae beat some of that. I very much like what I hear.
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Those are my three favourites, but there are a bunch of good songs there.
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Hey, that was pretty good.
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Cool – glad you enjoyed.
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I keep hearing good things about these women. I need to add to my list.
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Miranda Lambert had a co-write on one track, I think? Plus Natalie Hemby has written songs for Lambert.
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You had me at Miranda Lambert!!! Ha!
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I might have to bracket some time for this. You know how much I like country but there is the other side of lots of it not doing it for me. The ‘Laredo’ cut has my interest.
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Lots of it is pretty traditional and nicely produced. You probably won’t like it all, since there are four different writers and a few concessions to trying to get radio play.
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You never know . I like the “traditional” angle. The woman’s voice was easy on the ear on the ‘Laredo’ cut.
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Yeah, I figured you’d like the traditional bit. That’s sung by Brandi Carlile, who has a lovely voice – I’ve been enjoying her solo album from last year too.
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Thanks. I’ll check out Brandi. I have a whole wack of female , I guess you’d call it country style singers I like. I’m not into big loud shouters I like the Alison Krauss, Iris Dements of the world. Brandi has that easy not pushed style.
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