MARY GAUTHIER: Drag Queens in Limousines

Mary Gauthier

Drag Queens in Limousines

© 1999 In The Black Records (641444196227)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

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Country noir - sharp-eyed intelligence, vocal directness, gritty and real, with themes not usually dealt with in mainstream country.

tracks

1 Drag Queens in Limousines
2 Our Lady of the Shooting Stars
3 Karla Faye
4 I Drink
5 Evangeline
6 Lucky Stars
7 Different Kind of Gone
8 Slip of the Tongue
9 Lifetime
10 Jackie's Train

notes

Mary Gauthier's third album 'Filth & Fire' appeared on many of the top CD of the Year lists throughout the country, with Jon Pareles in The New York Times ranking the album as the #1 Independent Album of the Year. "Unflinching honesty makes Filth & Fire a triumph, the best singer-songwriter album of the year..." reported NO DEPRESSION, shortly after the album's release in July 2002. "Filth & Fire should establish her as one of the finest artists in the whole alt country field," reported the Washington Post.

"She is the People's Heart of Alternative Country," said media in Ireland after a recent European tour, and it is a sentiment that is shared by audiences everywhere Mary tours-in the U.S., in Europe, and most recently this summer, on festival stages throughout Canada.

A Louisiana native, Mary studied philosophy for five years at Louisiana State University before traveling east to study at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Mary opened an award-winning restaurant, Dixie Kitchen, in Boston's historic Back Bay, later selling the restaurant to pursue music full-time and moving to Nashville. Today, Mary tours the United States extensively and continues to tour in Europe several times each year. Ever breaking new ground, in summer 2003 along with being invited to perform for second time on the Newport Folk Festival's mainstage, Mary will tour extensively in Canada performing in major festivals such as the Edmonton Folk Festival, Calgary Blues & Roots Festival, Festival d'ete de Quebec, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, and Canmore Folk Festival, as well as other venues.

In her third cd 'Filth & Fire,' produced by Texas-based Gurf Morlix, Mary Gauthier introduces her audiences to characters whose moral qualities are tied to spiritual struggles with cords that are thin, frayed, and well-worn. Here, the listener will find some left hanging by a thread...did she jump or learn to pray out there on The Ledge? There are those who are holding on trying to find dignity like Davey, celebrating Christmas in Paradise while living under the Cow Key Bridge. People crack, crumble and burn in 'Filth & Fire' as they deal with the everyday dramas that depict universal themes of love vs. lovelessness, community vs. loneliness, and despair vs. faith. But, they're dealing. And for the artist, that seems to be what matters most. From the 'royal denizens' of Camelot Motel, with "damn good reasons for their sins" who seek anonymity not absolution, to the "dirty air, dirty laundry, dirty money, dirty rain," of Mary's Louisiana birthplace in Burnin' Sugar Cane, Mary Gauthier's fans who first embraced 'Drag Queens in Limousines' will find plenty of the grit they love.

The US release of her sophomore CD 'Drag Queens in Limousines,' was nothing short of phenomenal-within six months Mary Gauthier was touring coast to coast and accepting invitations to perform on the main stages of more than a dozen of the most prestigious festivals in U.S., from Strawberry Music in California to the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, and the CD received national airplay and media attention in publications like Billboard and No Depression in the US, and international praise in Rolling Stone (4 stars), MOJO (Album of the Month), Q Magazine, Uncut, Les Inrocktibles, and Country Music People, as well as awards such as the Independent Artist of the Year and a Silver Star from Crossroads Magazine.

Mary Gauthier will be recording her fourth album in October 2003 with Gurf Morlix producing. The CD is scheduled for a spring 2004 release.

reviews

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  • drag queens in limousines
    author: Ted Muller

    I purchased her mercy cd awhile back & just ordered the drag queen cd. Her whisky voice sends chills up & down my back. Love her singing

  • Piercing, achingly brilliant lyrics, fabulous voice and intelligent music. WOW!
    author: Sue J

    Worth the price for Drag Queens in Limousines alone. Different Kind of Gone and Slip of the Tongue are fantastic and Lifetime and Karla Faye pierce the heart. Interesting to hear a different version of I Drink than the one on the later album Mercy Now.

  • mary is shit hot as always - love it
    author: jan wilde

    i love mary's work, not only is she a great song writer and has this way of making you feel like you know her, she also has the most wonderful soulful voice, can croon and express her emotions harmoniously. her political slant also shows she has her heart in the right place. she's touring australia at the moment and i'm totally excited about that so if you haven't had a chance to witness this great songstress and you live in oz nows your chance.

  • Perfect second effort
    author: Dan I.

    Extraordinary second album. Mary doesn't write songs, she puts poetry to music. She doesn't sing, she tells stories to a melody. And what stories they are. There is a truth in her lyrics that not everyone has the guts to tell. Great production by Crit Harmon as well as great playing by everyone. A must have for any collection.

  • i love all her music
    author: Vincent Showalter

    vry good songs and execution

  • stunning songs- got my full attention
    author: Joanne

    not the first copy I bought of this- had to give it to friends. The first time I heard Drag Queens was on the radio and I had to stop the car and listen to the rest of the song. Took me back to survival days of my youth as a street musician in NYC, living in a Times Square 5th floor walk-up. Besides the amazing title cut, I Drink and others are also absolutely stunning.

  • Wow! A real artist is here on this page!
    author: Joe Sins

    "I drink" is a great tune! Mary, this is my first jaunt into your music, and I find it to be everything i would want in an artist. You are real, and that comes across strong!

  • A lyrical heartstopper. Why haven't we heard more about her?
    author: Ted Sink

    I haven't come across song writing this good in a long time. I would love to hear her hooked up with some great studio musicians.

  • My wife and I can't stop listening to this cd.
    author: Brian P. Myers

    My wife and I love this cd. we sit out back and listen to it on our patio each evening. great music.

  • I'll be saying "go-say" a lot more times y'all
    author: Gertie

    There's something in that Louisiana water. A mature poet. My good luck that the music isn't half bad too. Four stars instead of 5 because Not Enough Tracks ;-)

  • Pretty dang good
    author: Sky

    The CD is pretty good. I like the Drag Queens song the best out of them all...but I like most of the rest of it as well. A good addition to my music collection.

  • My new favorite CD
    author: Maureen Carr

    Hard to believe that everyone hasn't heard about this CD. I, too, found it by accident, cruising CD Baby and am so glad I did.

  • Love her music
    author: Walter Zumbrennen

    Great muscian that unfortunately has not received the fame she should have. Her music is unlike most country or for that matter any other musical style. It is real...you feel like you are listening to someone who lived the lyrics, not just singing them.

  • Wow
    author: Deborah Burnett

    Mary begins where Janis left off! Wow, Great stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • brilliance!
    author: bob smalley

    listen to this cd and you will understand why i can truthfully say mary has become one of my favorite performers of all time. in my mind she stands tall with artisits like indigo girls and neil young as an expressive genious.

  • a well crafted collection of poetic lyrics put to music
    author: paul norcia

    mary knocks you down with her first song and dosen't let you up until the final cut! first rate all the way.

  • What a great find.
    author: Deborah Turner-Davis

    Love this cd. I found it by accident, cruising the cd baby site and was intrigued by the clips. Since I received it the other day, I've played it for several people and listened to it constantly. Love the track I drink. The lyrics are great. No fluff here. Thanks!

  • I love Mary Gauthier's music, lyrics, intelligence, humor, originaliity.
    author: Dixie Kitchen

    "When you're 10 years old, it's cute to be a tomboy, but in a couple of years, ya' gotta deal with the ways of the world" says it all. This c.d. deals with love relationships, being a tomboy, AIDS, rock and roll idols, etc. with wonderful music, lyrics, poignancy, directness, and humor. I'm straight, have been crazy about Dixie Kitchen since I bought it after seeing Mary Gauthier at a music festival, and am sharing it with friends and family, both straight and lesbian.

  • Can't get enough
    author: Calvin Brown

    Liked the CD more each time I listened to it. The title track is great but especially like the track I drink.

  • Strong, uncluttered songwriting backed by performances with passion
    author: John Christian

    From the moment I heard "I Drink" while driving one day, I knew I wanted to hear the remainder of this album. Gauthier and Harmon certainly clicked in the song writing department on this piece of work. As a resident of Newfoundland, Canada, I am blessed with the opportunity to constantly hear locally-made music that bleeds the same range of emotions found on Drag Queens in Limousines. I usually hate to compare artists with one another but this album did remind me of Kris Kristofferson's early stuff in terms of the creativity, the poetry and the consistency of high standard. I highly recommend Drag Queens in Limousines!

  • Fabulously immersed in the complexities and inter-weavings of relationships
    author: Beverly McNabb

    So much of these lyrics are set in the grittiness of life and the enormous asks that are made of people in their relationships with themselves and with others. I love the heartfelt rawness and vibrancy of Mary's voice and her ability to use her guitar to amplify her message. Great stuff! Fabulous writing and music.

  • All songs are very strong.
    author: Jack

    Heard the title cut of the Drag Queens on KKFI in Kanasas City. Liked it and got artists name. Reminded me a little bit of John Prine. Very strong lyrics. Highly recommend.

  • Gave me chills, took my breath away. Strong stuff. Superb
    author: Patricia Lassak

    Every cut is a masterpiece of storytelling in song. Karla Faye gives me chills and leaves me breathless everytime I hear it. Mary shows a gift for telling about life's bumps and major abysses without asking for self-pity. Her lyrics grab you and won't let you go. I look forward to more from Mary.

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