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Are you still ignoring Iris Dement?

The last live show I attended, shortly before the Pandemic closed everything down, was multi-Grammy nominee Iris Dement, at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon, a wonderful-sounding deco-style converted movie theater. It was my third time seeing Iris (the other two being at The Troubadour in West L.A.), and as before she was astonishing. Iris on stage alone, playing her grand piano and acoustic guitar, and singing like no one else on Earth. Sounds like hyperbole? Consider the following:

- Merle Haggard on Iris: "The best singer I’ve ever heard." Let that sink in for a moment. Merle recorded her incredible song "No Time To Cry" (found on her second album, My Life), but her original is imo far superior.

- Rolling Stone on her debut album, Infamous Angel: "An essential album of the 1990’s."

- The Guardian: "One of the finest singer-songwriters in America."

- The Boston Globe on her 2012 album, Sing The Delta: "A work of rare, unvarnished grace and power."

- David Byrne & Natalie Merchant performed Iris’ wonderful "Let The Mystery Be" as a duet on MTV Unplugged. Brave of Byrne, as he’s not much of a singer ;-) .

Iris of course caught the ear of many of her contemporaries, including John Prine (he and Iris recorded and toured together off-and-on), Emmylou Harris and Joan Osborne (seen and heard singing harmony with Iris in one of Dement’s many YouTube videos), and Steve Earle, all admirers of hers. She also attracts the best musicians, including the master dobro player Jerry Douglas.

And yet, Iris remains under the radar for most people, including, I have no doubt, many (perhaps most) here. Why? Sorry Iris, I can’t let the mystery be. ;-)

Iris is about the resume touring, so if you're interested check her website to see if she's coming to your area. For ya'll in Seattle, she'll be in town in September, I believe it is. @tomic601, you listening?! If she's not coming through Portland this time, I may just drive up to Seattle to again see and hear her. For those who choose to attend a show of her's, prepare to have your life changed. ;-)




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bob540
404 posts
 
I had never heard of Iris DeMent until reading this thread.  I went to check some videos of her singing and can see the appeal — her voice and words carry a lot of emotion.  Like Kasey Chambers, she has a childlike voice that stirs something inside.  I suppose there are many good singers/songwriters that seldom or never get airplay and thus are seldom heard by the masses.  Now I need to go check out Frasey Ford!   Thank you for this thread and the information. 

P.S. I went to Iris’ website and at top there is a statement regarding “Stopping fascism”.  Clicking on that leads to a website that condemns Trump and all who supported him.   It seems like Iris is a bit too far-Left for my tastes.
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tonykay
1,297 posts
 
I went to the record store on Friday and bought both "My Life" and "Infamous Angel" by Iris Dement. Her voice is sweet and her lyrics are sentimental. She reminds me of Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith. I like her sound and will just ignore her politics, like I do with most of the artists I admire.
jdoris
972 posts
 
bob540,

Hard to know what to think abut artists whose music you like, but  with politics that grate.

At the other end from Iris is Hank Williams Jr.: lots of good tunes (and lots of less good ones), but not everyone is as keen on Sarah Palin as he is.

Maybe just ignore the interviews? :)


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bdp24 OP
9,408 posts
 
It's interesting how people of faith seem to veer either hard left or hard right. And both are so convinced they're correct.

I know one pretty good guitarist/pianist who is Libertarian, and interestingly has been a Scientologist since I first met him in 1969. Other than him, I don't think I've ever known another Conservative musician. Or a Scientologist one. ;-)

When Dylan went Christian John Lennon's head almost exploded.
boothroyd
365 posts
 
She can definitely bring it:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLjHcbSVmYs

Great thread mentioning many of my heros. Something about the singer songwriter that speaks to me 👍

Kris McKay did a wonderful cover of “Tear Stained Eye” back in the day (Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis on BGVs)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4inG5BTBsPI
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