Red Molly
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Country/Americana (traditional and contemporary)
Status:
Most recent release, Never Been to Vegas (live, 2006); most recent studio release, Red Molly ep (2005)
See also:
The Red Molly's siteThe Ectophiles' Guide's entry for group member Abbie Gardner
Comparisons:
The group sounds like other Americana/country harmonic groups but with their own flair and energy. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Covers/own material:
Covers, traditional, and own
General comments:
Energetic Americana with impressive three-part harmonies from strong voices. Unpretentious, heartfelt, and refreshingly tart (rather than overly sweet as so many other harmonic groups are). (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Recommended first album:
Either
Recordings:
- Red Molly ep (2005)
- Never Been to Vegas (live, 2006)
Red Molly ep
Release info:
2005—self-released—8 27101 03050 2
Availability:
See the Red Molly's site for availability
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for Americana fans
Group members:
Laurie MacAllister—lead vocals, harmony vocals, guitar, banjo
Abbie Gardner—lead vocals, harmony vocals, mandolin, dobro
Carolann Solebello—harmony vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin
Produced by:
Red Molly
Comments:
This four-track ep includes a Susan Werner cover, an original track, a traditional song "Darlin' Corey", and a cover of the country classic "Are You Lonesome Tonight." All four are done with careful attention to crisp presentation of the simple but effective acoustic backing and their gorgeous harmonies. There is plenty of energy and talent here and it shows. Especially impressive is that the original track holds its own even in the august company here. This disc is sure to leave Americana/country music fans wanting more, more, more. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Never Been to Vegas
Release info:
2006—RM02
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Abbie Gardner—lead vocal (1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12), harmony vocal, guitar, dobro
Laurie MacAllister—lead vocal (2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13), melody vocal (14), harmony vocal, banjo, guitar
Carolann Solebello—lead vocal (6, 7), harmony vocal, bass, mandolin, guitar
Produced by:
Red Molly
Comments:
Never Been to Vegas is such an easy album to love. Great energy, great harmonies, great songs. Mostly covers, but they're well chosen and well done. In particular, I absolutely love their rendition of Patty Griffin's "Long Ride Home." (In fact, I think I like it as much as Patty's version, which is one of my favorites from her 1000 Kisses album.) Abbie Gardner's original "Ohio" is terrific too, a really fun sing-along song. There's just enough in-between song banter to give you a sense of what their shows are like without getting old on repeated listening. And this album gets a lot of repeated listening. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Thanks to Sophia Gurley and JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
