I'm diggin' all the way to China with a silver spoon while the hangman fumbles with the noose

There are very few albums that I can't remember buying. Hope Waits' self-titled disc from 2007 is one of those albums. I do not remember where or when I picked up this album, nor had I even listened to it until this summer when I was baking cookies for my trip to Vancouver. It was the perfect music for that afternoon. Hope is a smooth and confidant blues singer; she gives weight to her songs that seems unusual until you hear her story. She is one of twelve children, born to an alcoholic father and an overprotective mother, living impoverished and transient in the south for most of her childhood. I'm surprised that the music world hasn't taken more notice of this extraordinary talent.

For fans of Ollabelle, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. I hesitate to compare her to Norah Jones and/or Katie Melua because I think that Hope has more soul than either of them.

"Get Behind the Mule"
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