Homegrown singer/songwriters raised in Nashville are a novelty. It seems every artist I come in contact with is from another city or country. Recently I met a recording artist born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She knows what Nashville was and what it is today. Her name is Starr Belle, and her new EP, Wandering Spirit, could be a metaphor for Nashville. Starr has assembled a remarkable album that is part country, part blues, with occasional jazz licks. As you listen to Wandering Spirit, she drifts from the country genre, giving her listeners a taste of other flavors.
In the album’s first track, “Streets of Nashville,” Starr presents a country piece with pictures of disappointment and the cold realities of life in Nashville. As she moves through the tracks, her album starts to evolve into a cool pop/country tune, “Gotta Know.” Then the album shifts into a different genre with “Rain.” “Gotta Know” and “Rain” are my favorites. I hear so much emotion in her voice. “Rain” is blues number perfect for Starr. Her alto voice is flawless in “Rain.” Starr finishes Wandering Spirit with “Song for Mindy,” another track that steers away from traditional country.
Starr’s album, Wandering Spirit, is a multiple album. Many artists such as Bette Midler have used this concept. For Wandering Spirit, the concept works. She surprises you with her different genres.
Starr has a beautiful voice that will tug at your heart, mind, and soul. With seven well-written tunes, she has collaborated with songwriters such as Grammy nominee P.J. Steelman, and singer/songwriter Steve Coleman. Listening to her EP several times, I couldn’t help but think of Nashville and what people have told me about music city, past and present. Wandering Spirit changes with different variations throughout the album, as it reminds me of Nashville, and how the mixture of music has changed over the years.
I’m JR Miller with High Note Reviews, and this is Starr Belle’s Wandering Spirit.
I’m just proud of Starr both as a friend and a collaborator in music as a co-writer… she’s the real deal… she’s as true in heart and soul in person as the same as you hear in her music .. as said she is multi genres… and each day she expands her musical dreams with years of wisdom in such a young package of talent….
Thanks much John. Starr has a lot of talent.