Tami Neilson – Kingmaker (Neilson Records)

Tami Neilson has a guest. His name is Willie Nelson. But one listen to the title track to Tami’s new album will convince you that she needs no help from any man to make her voice heard.

I’ve gotta say, it’s been such a pleasure watching and hearing up and coming artists such as Aldous Harding, Reb Fountain, Marlon Williams and Troy Kingi find their musical identity after putting in the hard yards of writing, recording and touring over the years.

Add Tami Neilson to that list.

Tami, an ex-pat Canadian, now living in Auckland has been singing in front of folks since she was 10, opening for Kitty Wells (see her song King Of Country Music) and touring with her family band before heading (way) south to New Zealand.

With previous albums such as 2014’s Dynamite!, 2018’s Sassafrass! and 2021’s Chick-A-Boom! Tami has been wowing alt.country fans with her unique take on rockabilly, soul and country for years.

Now, with Kingmaker, Tami needs no exclamation mark to make her point.

I’ve got my hands on an advance copy of the vinyl (coloured red) and it looks and sounds fantastic.

Before we get to the music, a note about the packaging. Along with the usual songwriting and musician credits, Tami has included an essay by Dr. Jada Watson, a professor of musicology at the University of Ottawa…together they created “The F Word” where they address issues raise in a report titled “Gender Representation on Country Format Radio: A Study of Published Reports from 2000-2018”

But don’t be frightened, guys, just open your eyes and ears.

On to the music…

Tami has written or co-written everything here, collaborating with brother Jay, Delaney Davidson and her recently-deceased Dad.

Open track Kingmaker finds Tami taking aim at the patriarchy that has been rampant in Country Music for years.

Careless Woman follows up with a tribal drumbeat, a bit of the old chick-a-boom, and Nick Atkinson on sax.

But the best is yet to come.

Along with a killer band:

Brett Adams (guitar), Chip Matthews (bass), Neil Watson (pedal steel) and Tom Broome (drums), Tami has employed a 9-piece string section and string arrangements by the always fab Victoria Kelly.

Which means that when Tami want to tug on your heartstrings, as on Beyond The Stars, you know there won’t be a dry eye in the house…especially with 89-year old Willie Nelson singing along.

Over to side two and on to a couple of my favourite tracks.

Green Peaches is a wonderful tribute to Bobbie Gentry. Tami doesn’t say so, but hearing those slinky strings and those lyrics about South Carolina in the summertime and one can’t help but think of that infamous Ode To Billie Joe.

Mama’s Talkin’ follows and Tami and the band seem to channel Elvis and The Attractions as they pump it up with this feminist rant.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Grudge, a tune that sounds like Helen Reddy’s Angie Baby meeting up with Tony Joe White’s Polk Salad Annie.

Angie, Annie, Patsy, Bobbie or Kitty…the women have been making great (country) music for decades. Let’s hope that this record will get the airplay and the acclaim it deserves.

If it takes a little push from Willie, then so be it, though I think Tami’s got this on her own.

Marty Duda