Kappa Danielson - Plastic Doll/That'll Be Alright...

Hear The Track Here

I was over at You Tube a few nights ago checking out Crockmisters channel and - before I knew it - I was engaged in a 'random click' loop, watching anything that took my fancy. It's that kind of site, ya know. When, however, I clicked on a Kappa Danielson (Kathy Ann Danielson to be exact) link I stopped dead. Since then I've added her as a favourite and a day doesn't go by without me swinging back and having a listen to her material. The main reason is because Kappa (and her sister Kristi Starr) are great country songwriters, absolutely awesome singers and very, very decent guitar players into the bargain. I'll be reviewing Kristi separately a little later, so lets move on. Don't go to Kappa's page expecting the usual glitz and rhinstonery of commercial Nashville country, this is just a woman, her guitar and her voice and that - I guess - is what impresses me most.

Plastic Doll is the track I first encountered and it established instantly that Kappa gets so much enjoyment and joy out of just sitting, singing and playing; it was a bit of a jaw-dropping moment. A Plastic Doll she is most definitely not, as the words of this wonderful little song state and the proof is in the confident, precise playing and the the absolutely fresh, clean, free way she sings it. If I could have downloaded this song right there and then I would have done and been busily trying to tempt her onto a music site like Soundclick who would go nuts over her. That'll Be Alright is the next track I glommed onto and if Plastic Doll hadn't nailed it for me, That'll Be Alright certainly would have done. It's a bit more commercially oriented than Plastic Doll and has already been covered by another You Tube musician - never a bad sign.

Kappa is a lovely guitar player, fluid and precise and always pushing the song forward. What she is doing isn't that OMG but there again when she sings the whole thing locks together so well you forget everything. Like all the best music around, Kappa is doing this just for the fun of it and it shows in her videos and shines out of her music. Moreover, when she opens her mouth, the voice of an angel singing directly from the heart overtakes all other considerations. For a classic example of that kind of emotional performance I suggest you also check out the very basic video for You Believe, which for all its black and white, low light graininess shows exactly what keeps me coming back to this singer/songwriter time after time. Oh, btw, she's no slouch at bluegrass either so nrrrrr Finally, if all this hasn't convinced you, check out her version of Deeper Than the Holler (Randy Travis cover) and see what you may be missing.

MUST WATCH country songs - just for the joy of it.