Lori McKenna – 1988

What does it sound like?:

One of the great things about music is when you unexpectedly discover an album that completely takes you by surprise. 1988 is one of this records. It bushwhacked me. While I expected to like it, what I have found is that it goes well beyond liking. It has overwhelmed me and I love it madly.

It’s clearly an album that has passed most music magazines by, because it’s not in their top albums of the year, though I think it should be.

McKenna’s name is probably unknown to many readers here. I was aware of her for years because she is an artist who regularly popped up on Bob Harris’s radio programmes. She had never made too much of an impression on me. Back in 2016 she released an album titled The Bird And The Rifle. My wife was taken by something from it that Bob played and she bought the CD. Since then she’s got Lori’s albums as they have been released.

I then realised that maybe Bob had a point and she was worth listening to. I liked TBATR a lot as well as her last two albums; The Tree which came out in 2018 followed by The Balladeer two years later.

I came to 1988 already looking on it in a favourable light but with no expectation that it would become something so addictive. Whenever I was looking through the CD pile, time and again this is the record I choose. It arrived back in July and hasn’t outstayed its welcome. It’s got its hooks into me and won’t let go.

It could be the presence of Dave Cobb as producer who provided the spark of magic that first hooked my wife and then me into a fuller appreciation of Lori’s songwriting gifts. 1988, like the three preceding albums have all been produced by him

What happened in 1988?

The elder George Bush got elected President. USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian passenger jet. Terrorists blew up a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie. Pakistani President Zia Al-Huq was assassinated. Netherlands won Euro 1988.

More pertinently, as far as this album is concerned, Lori McKenna met the man who became her husband and they’ve been married for more than 30 years.

Consequently Lori doesn’t have a trail of failed relationships to sing about, so she’s not singing of heartbreak, disillusionment, bitterness and betrayal. She is rather is a chronicler of family life. She sings a lot about familial love. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Not necessarily painting a rosy picture and clearly not just writing and singing of her own family life, though it is often a source. Her songs are far from dull homilies. She brings a perspective to life’s experiences. Children growing up, people, including herself, growing old. Other relationships disintegrating. Her songs are suffused with empathy and love. But don’t think for a moment that she’s delivering any sort of sociological treatise on family life. She’s an entertainer first and foremost and on 1988 she delivers profoundly rich entertainment.

That’s an outline of the subject matter, but what really counts is the beauty of Lori’s songwriting.
She simply writes gorgeous melodies. She’s also a successful songwriter for others with people like Faith Hill, Lady Gaga, LeAnn Rimes and Little Big Town all covering her songs. She won a Grammy for her song Girl Crush that Little Big Town recorded and followed that with another Grammy for Humble And Kind performed by Tim McGraw. The song was then named Song of the Year at the 2016 CMA Awards.

The bridge from the song Days Are Honey illustrates her appreciation of the roller coaster reality of relationships

Some days are dust, some days are diamonds
Some days are falling, some days are flying
Some days are broke, some days are money
Some days are dirt, some days are honey

The title track paints a picture of a relationship that has had difficulties but through their mutual support has survived to the present day.

Lori also sketches other relationships and their failings. Wonder Drug has the chorus

Remember we had it all planned out
A fenced in yard, a job and some kids
How dare you leave me high and dry now…
… Why couldn’t love be the wonder drug

I could quote lyrics from other songs, but there is no substitute for listening. Go to the YouTube postings below and see what you think. I hope you’ll be similarly entranced by Lori McKenna’s gift for creating beautiful vignettes of 21st century American life.

What does it all *mean*?

Some artists can retain a well of creativity that can continue into middle age. They don’t burn out. They don’t rust. They mature and produce more wonderful music.

Goes well with…

Sitting with your significant other and picking out facets reflecting your own relationship

Release Date:

July 2023

Might suit people who like…

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer, Amanda Anne Platt, Patty Griffin, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, James Taylor…

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