Little Diva

As far as I'm concerned, you can keep the Beatles. You can keep the Stones, as well. Hell, folks, I'd even be willing to throw in Dylan and Springsteen - just to finish the formula. As long as I can keep my little Maria McKee on the player, I AM GOOD............................................................................For those of you who don't know the story here, Maria first burst onto the scene back in '85, as lead-singer for the band, Lone Justice. It was a group that lasted only two years/two recordings but man, man oh man, talk about a huge explosion. Their first record, in particular, is seminal. It includes such Maria standards as "Working Late", "After the Flood", "Ways to be Wicked (penned by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell)", and, yes, folks, my personal favorite, "Wait til We Get Home".................................................................................Of course, so, too, it wasn't until her solo career started in 1989 that this seamless mixture of rock, folk, and country really broke loose. From the drunken scat/screaming guitars on "This Property is Condemned" to the oddly affecting gospel rapture on "My Girlhood Among the Outlaws", McKee seriously pushed the envelope from 1989 to 1995. Most of the songs she penned herself, but even on the covers it was magic. Her rendition, for example, of the undeservedly obscure Van Morrison song, "My Lonely Sad Eyes", is as good as rock and roll gets - period.............................................................................Now, admittedly, her career since then has been a tad less raucus. But, still, even on these more reflective folksy works of hers, the fire - it still frigging burns/simmers. I mean, it sure as hell wipes the floor with Shania Twain. That I don't have a problem saying.