Back in the mid-’60s, when Vanguard Records were all the rage on the folk scene, it was practically an honour to get a chance to record a solo folk/singer-songwriter album where it was just the artist, her/his voice, songs and a single instrument or two.
These days such albums have become a sort of rare occasion, with the artist being too courageous or truly able with something to say to attempt something like that. Essentially, you would really have to be a good musical storyteller to pull it off and come up with a consistent, substantial album of pure solo music.
After 10 years of complete silence, folk artist Shannon Jae Ridout is attempting something like that with her new album Two Busted…