Chinese Boxes

Performer: Kim Richey
Producer: Giles Martin
Distributor: Welk

Notes: On her first album for Vanguard Records, alternative country singer-songwriter Kim Richey hits for the fences: recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios with producer Giles Martin, CHINESE BOXES is less a pop crossover attempt than an ambitious work that sounds like a country-rock-influenced version of Elvis Costello's IMPERIAL BEDROOM (which of course was produced by Giles's legendary father, George Martin). The varied arrangements range from the ornate chamber pop of "Jack and Jill" to the sparse, jazzy "The Absence of Your Company," hitting different musical and emotional touchstones along the way.

Uncut (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "There's plenty of bittersweet soul here, not least 'Pretty Picture' and 'The Absence Of Your Company'..." No Depression (p.94) - "[A] great vehicle for Richey's lovely, clear-toned voice, which is a throb or two away from Karen Carpenter comparisons." Q (Magazine) (p.123) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[S]ongs such as 'Turn Me' are beautifully sung..."

A treasured songwriter with a penchant for earthbound lyrics and soaring roots-pop melodies, Kim Richey has been supplying intelligent, tuneful songs to country performers such as Trisha Yearwood and Radney Foster since the early 1990s. In '95, she released an album under her own name, and the fringe-country cognoscenti fell in love with her buttery alto. Since then she has continued a somewhat dual career of writing for others while releasing solid solo albums featuring pop production provided by the likes of Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow) and Hugh Padgham (XTC).

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