Melissa Etheridge – Rise (Sun Records) (13th Floor Album Review)

Newly-signed to Sun Records, Melissa Etheridge teams up with producer Shooter Jennings to make a record where she says, “sometimes you’re gonna taste the dirt, but then you’re gonna rise”.

Like a lot of us, Melissa has had her ups and downs over the past few years. Her 21-year-old son died, she had to evacuate her house because of the LA wildfires and she celebrated the wedding of her daughter, Bailey.

Yes, life is full of ups and downs, and the best songwriters manage to make their personal stories universal.

On Rise, Melissa Etheridge proves to be one of those.

The 64-year-old pushes on.  “Then there were times I was down on my knees sayin’, “This is gonna break me, this is gonna bleed for awhile. Then hours turned to days And it all blew away And I chose to survive God, I love bein’ alive”, she singing on album opener Bein’ Alive.

Recorded at LA’s Sunset Sound and backed by a tight band…Max Hart (guitar & keys), Eric Gardner (drums) and Erik Kertes (bass)…Etheridge sounds both resilient and determined.

The music is straight-up heartland rock, the king folks like Bob Seger and John Mellencamp were making in their prime.

The thing is, Melissa sounds like she is still in her prime. Her voice is strong and passionate and her songwriting has never been better.

Don’t You Want A Woman? Is a blues belter that shows off her vocal chops while album closer More Love is a tender piano ballad, featuring a string quartet, written for her daughter’s wedding.

Chris Stapleton sits in to sing The Other Side Of Blue, a song he co-wrote with Etheridge, and they sound great together.

But to be honest, Melissa Etheridge doesn’t need much help.

“I am a woman of power” she declares on Tomboy…and who could argue?

Marty Duda

Rise is released March 27th on Sun Records