Carter Sampson
Gold
(Horton)
4 out of 5 stars
Videos by American Songwriter
Who’s the Queen of Oklahoma? It’s Carter Sampson of course, at least according to what she names her publishing company. And after spinning this, her seventh full-length since her debut in 2004, you’ll likely agree.
Gold is another in a recent rash of “pandemic albums,” this one with players stripped down predominantly to just her and multi-instrumentalist/co-producing shotgun rider Kyle Reid. That’s quite a change for Sampson whose previous collection, Lucky (2018), featured a lengthy list of top-notch musicians bringing her vibrant folk/country/pop to life.
But you won’t be able to notice the music was created by creative overdubs because these performances sound as animated and energized as if there was a full band involved. Sampson still works from a country base as the opening mid-tempo title track indicates. The song is an affirmation for her mom to not worry about her daughter because even though she’s working twice as hard as everybody else …. you made me out of gold. It’s a lilting, memorable melody with splashes of pedal steel as Sampson sings with a subdued, personal yet convincing voice that seems as if she’s in the room with you. She’s surely a traveler (I’m going to go someplace new/my bags are always packed) as made clear on the acoustic-based, guitar/banjo-led “Can’t Stop Me Now” which zips along with a modified train time shuffle.
Whether accompanying herself on acoustic guitar for the folksy “Today is Mine,” where she tells a love she needs some room to herself, at least for a day (I’m in a good mood and I want it to stay that way), or incorporating Reid’s subtle yet cascading ELO styled synths and roaring guitar solo on “Black Blizzard,” a tale of Dust Bowl times bringing the difficulties of that Oklahoma era into stunning and sad detail, Sampson approaches every track with an earthy honesty. The backwoods, acoustic, bluesy “Fingers to the Bone” is a story of how hard work finally paid off for the protagonist whose father left her trees bearing enough fruit to financially support her.
Even with the occasional synth backing, the vibe remains uncluttered and natural, presenting these personal yet universally appealing songs with the humble, unfussy vibe of Bonnie Raitt.
Sampson earns every bit of her self-anointed royalty status as not just Oklahoma’s but one of Americana’s finest singer/songwriters.
Photo by Doug Schwarz Photography / Devious Planet PR
