Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Believing
Company: Fantasy
Catalog: F-9412
Year: 1972
Country/State: Chelan, Washington
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: includes original lyric insert
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4954
Price: $9.00
Without getting into a lot of detail, singer/guitarist Alice Stuart is one of the forgotten pioneers in the field of female rockers. Starting out as a folkie her initial break came when she found a mentor/supporter in the form of Barry Olivier. As the producer of the Berkeley Folk Festival, Olivier featured her in several of the early-1960s festivals. By the late 1960s Stuart decided she wanted to be a rocker. Her credentials include a stint in an early Mothers of Invention line up ("Freak Out") and a series of excellent, but overlooked early 1970s albums with her backing band Snake.
The first time I heard 1972's "Believing" I could have sworn that it was an Emmylou Harris set that I hadn't heard. At least to my ears Stuart's high pitched, slightly nasal delivery is a dead ringer for Harris. On pseudo-countryish material like Believe in Someone' the comparisons are simply uncanny. To a large extent that comparison will probably dictate what you think about this collection. Personally, Stuart's country and blues repertoire simply didn't do much for me. Performances like 'Statesboro Blues' and 'Golden Rocket' were dedicated and professional and they just didn't do much for me. Luckily Stuart's enough pop and rock catalog was quite good. Back to the earlier comparison, but imagine Emmylou Harris cutting a rock album and you'll get a good feel for material like 'Give Me Some Sunshine', 'Thank You - Thank Me - Let’s Be Free' and 'He’s Leaving Me Again'. An album that snuck up on me and gets played every couple of months ...
"Believing" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Believe in Someone (Alice Stuart) - 4:42
2.) Give Me Some Sunshine (Alice Stuart) - 2:45
3.) Karma Stands in the Way (Alice Stuart) - 3:51
4.) Thank You - Thank Me - Let’s Be Free (Alice Stuart) - 2:53
5.)
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Sometime (Alice Stuart) - 3:48
(side
2)
1.) Don’t Cry
(Let’s Be Friends Again) (Alice Stuart) - 5:11
2.) Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell) - 3:32
3.) He’s Leaving Me Again (Alice Stuart) - 5:07
4.) Doin’ My Highway Stuff (Alice Stuart) - 3:13
5.) Golden Rocket (Hank Snow) - 3:36
After an extended break from music during which time she raised a family and went back to school, Stuart started recording again in the early 1990s. She has an interesting website at:
http://www.alicestuart.com/media/