Clelia pauses to appreciate the Wildflowers
2008 LBS Wall of Honour inductee Clelia Adams’ new album, Wildflowers, is the summation of her career to date – and that is a pretty impressive career – both here in Australia and overseas. With its complimentary blend of originals, favourites and Clelia’s secret weapon – the FFF – “family and friends factor”, her latest studio album is sure to entice quite a few listeners to pause and smell the Wildflowers.
This, her fifth studio album will be released in February, and first single Wildflowers goes to radio throughout Australia on NFS and internationally through longtime musical associates, Hillcrest. Clelia has been at the forefront of the Aussie invasion into the European charts, which brought her much international acclaim.
Wildflowers is Clelia’s own way of paying her respects to tradition and in gathering songs for it, she turned the full circle. “It’s me paying homage to tradition and going back to the real country music I fell in love with,” Clelia said. “I loved that era of traditional country, with the gorgeous melodies, that elegant era within the style, where twin fiddles and great singers came to the fore. “As a singer, I learnt so much from listening to people like Lefty Frizzel and the Louvin Bros. I just wanted to share those beginnings with the people who enjoy my music today.”
Clelia readily admits this is the album where she’s worn her heart on her sleeve. “It’s a very personal album as all the songs mean something really special to me. In the long run, I hope they mean something to everybody else as well. They’re kind of the tracks of my life,” she said.
The songs Clelia sourced and wrote for this definitive release, have shaped her life up until this moment. “These songs really are inspired in my life, they come with meaning, with lyrics that I can sing and I can understand and reflect my personality in some way,” Clelia said.
You’ll find yourself rediscovering songs by Lefty, Hank, the Louvins, Emmylou and Gram all over again as well as falling in love with Clelia’s original works.
Recording again with good friend and colleague Stuie French at his Swingin’ Door studio in Sydney was a natural decision for Clelia, and inviting her family – brother Albert Calvo, and her children, Dan and Jessie, into the studio was pure inspiration. “Bringing my family together on record was a dream come true and it more than lived up to everyone’s expectations,” Clelia said. “There’s something about family harmonies you just can’t beat and it was so good to have my brother playing guitar on what I believe is my finest album yet.”
From the cover art featuring wildflowers from Clelia’s own garden, through to the choice of musicians and special guests who contributed to the disc, the album is class all the way.
Clelia paid tribute to the professional team of musicians who made her sound like “the country queen of my dreams” – Stuie French, Chris Haigh, Brad Bergen, Bill Risby, Michel Rose, Mick Albeck, Albert Calvo, Dan Adams and angelic backing vocals by Camille Te Nahu and Jess Hammond. “Then I had my good musical mates Kevin Bennett and Bill Chambers join me on a couple of classic country duets, with Bill throwing in a little lap steel for good measure.”
Her previous album, Heartbeat Highway, won Clelia the Gentleman Geoff Brown TIARA in 2006 and yielded six Top 10 and three Top 20 hits on the ECMA European Country Music Charts, and 2 Top 15’s on the Australian Countrytracks Top 30.
June 2008 update:
"Wildflowers" continues to have success both in Europe and Australia. It is currently #11 both on the European ECMA chart and the Australian Countrytracks Top 30 chart, and was acclaimed as the #1 most played country song on European CM radio early May, as well as being awarded Best Cobntemporary Country Song and Song of the Year and the Northern Territory Country Songwriting Awards in May 2008 at the Katherine Country Music Muster.
February 2009 Update
CLELIA’S collaboration with good mate BILL CHAMBERS on the classic Louvin Bros. country duet, “If I Could Only Win your Love”, has enjoyed massive airplay in Australia and around Europe, where it reached # 1 in Denmark and #5 on the European ECMA chart (7/2/09) and is still currently in the Top 10. “Wildflowers” is still on the ECMA chart at #93 being there for 27 weeks.
www.europeancma.com
The duet is included on ABC’s John Nutting’s Saturday Night Country’s 15th Anniversary compilation , which was released at the Tamworth 09 festival.
Appearances with her band at the 2008 Gympie Muster and Tamworth 2009 festival won CLELIA many new fans, especially lovers of traditional roots country music. Audiences everywhere soak up the sounds of the classics, appreciating CLELIA’s unique approach to the re-makes of some of the greatest country songs.
A surprise and thrilling double win at the 2008 NSW GOLD MEDALLION AWARDS in Tamworth in November saw her pick up FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR and SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR for “Wildflowers”. CLELIA was also nominated at the 2009 TIARA Independents Awards for her tribute to her immigrant Italian mother, with “My Mothers Wedding Band”.
The new radio release is the Lefty Frizzel/Jim Beck song, “ I Love You A Thousand Ways”, one of CLELIA’s favourite songs of all time.
Australia on NFS 129 track 3, and Europe on Hillcrest 47.
Clelia and her band The River Valley Express filmed the final rehearsal before heading off to the Gympie Muster in 08, on the back porch of Clelia’s home in rural Mullumbimby, NSW. There is now live footage of that day on her website
http://www.cleliaadams.com/index.php.media other/
Check out “Wildflowers”, “My Mothers Wedding Band”, “Uncle Tony’s Utel” and “I Love You Honey” live.
JULY 2009 UPDATE:
Clelia and Bill's "If I Could Only Win Your Love" scored the #1 berth in Florida USA for 2 months in a row on TCM Radio (Traditional Country Music) in May and June 2009.
The only Australian in contention, Clelia nominated in the first round of the ECMA (European Country Music Assoc) 2008/2009 Awards, in three categories: 2008 Song of the Year for "Wildflowers", 2008 Artist of the Year and 2008 Female Vocalist of the Year.
Clelia's "I Love You A Thousand Ways" (on Hillcrest 47) has gone up the ECMA (www.europeancma.com) chart this week from #84 to #14 (24 July, 2009).
www.cleliaadams.com clelia.adams@bigpond.com
Distribution: will.heine@onestopent.com.au
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