A girl with a guitar...but not any girl with a guitar...

I don't remember how I stumbled over Maren Morris, probably an article that mentioned “My Church”. Listening to that song, I was reminded of Kacey Musgraves who I discovered a little earlier. Especially the slighly blasphemous to a certain type of audience lyrics showed a similarity to Mrs. Musgraves' “take no shit/give no shit” attitude to what's usually acceptable in the confines of the country genre. But let's be clear here: On her major label records, Maren Morris doesn't do country. Not really. Nashville has churned out stuff that isn't country in any appreciable sense in what, 40, 50 years? But even the roots pop of yesteryear isn't quite as audacious as Morris' music on 2016's Hero. She mixes pop, soul, hip-hop beats and really only the tiniest hint of country flavoring together in a way none of the Nashville acts do.

By 2019's Girl, she didn't even feel like pretending to cater to a country audience anymore, it's a big, shiny, ultramodern and sophisticated pop production. What can go amiss amidst the impeccable glimmer and shine of the production are some of the songs, as both records flirt with overkill. All or most of it is so steeped in cool grooves, production flourishes and ass-kicker attitude that it can be a bit much to take in. Kind of like a dessert buffet, where after tasting all the treats your tummy is aching and what sounded like a good idea at first turned out...well, not to be that. That's especially true of Girl, whose production can get a little exhausting, but even on Hero you have a bunch of numbers that sound very samey, in a number of assorted styles.

However, Morris' music is not style over substance, the songs came and come first. This comes out best when she does them in an acoustic format, where no amount of fancy production will save or sink a song. Not to mention that that is how Morris started out, as yet another songwriter with a guitar.

Some of the songs on today's little compilation are her big hits stripped down to their basics ("My Church", "The Middle", "Rich", "Dear Hate"). Some come from her independent self-published records phase where to promote them she simply went out with her acoustic guitar. All of them show that Mrs. Morris is more than just glitz and sass. Includes a fab cover of John Prine's “Angel Of Montgomery”, the rest are originals. And there's a fabulous bonus track in the form of a medley I created out of three songs from her appearance on CMT Crossroads with Alicia Keys, where he tackles two of Keys' songs. (Another track on the comp is a rehearsal with Keys on Morris' own "Once"). 

So, yeah, if you don't know Maren Morris yet, go and check this out. And if you do know Ms. Morris, then check this out, too, because you'll hear her here like you rarely heard her. So, let's listen to a girl with a guitar...but not any girl with a guitar...