Shemekia Copeland's UNCIVIL WAR Receives Rave Review On Sound Opinions

SHEMEKIA COPELAND'S UNCIVIL WAR RECEIVES RAVE REVIEW ON SOUND OPINIONS

"This is a masterful record. Finally we have the album that her voice has always deserved."

Uncivil War, the new album from multiple Grammy Award nominee Shemekia Copeland, set for release on Friday, October 23, received a rave review from critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis on their nationally syndicated radio show and podcast, Sound Opinions. Sound Opinions airs on over 100 public radio stations nationwide, as well as being available as a podcast on all of the popular services including Spotify and Apple Music. Listen to the full seven minute review here, with the review starting at the beginning of the show:
https://soundopinions.org/show/777

Among the highlights of the review:

"Clotilda’s On Fire: What a song it is. An indication of the topicality, the passion, the social commentary. Shemekia does not shy away from what’s going on in the world and what got us here."

"Walk Until I Ride: A civil rights anthem if I ever heard one. The best Staple Singers song the Staples never gave us."

"Shemekia addresses key issues in America with her big voice, big heart, a lot of passion and a lot of fire. She continues to grow as a singer and as an artist. The genre diversity is so welcome. I’ve never heard her this deep, this broad in terms of influence. Her genre agnosticism echoes Emmylou Harris and Rhiannon Giddens."

Uncivil War—recorded in Nashville with award-winning producer and musician Will Kimbrough at the helm—is a career-defining album for Copeland. The topical title track is a courageous plea for unity in a time of disunion. With songs addressing gun violence (Apple Pie And A .45), civil rights (the Staple Singers-esque message song, Walk Until I Ride), lost friends (the Dr. John tribute Dirty Saint), bad love (Junior Parker’s In The Dark) as well as good (Love Song, by her father, legendary bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland), Uncivil War is far-reaching, soul-searching and timeless. Guests on Uncivil War include legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, Americana superstar Jason Isbell, Grammy-nominated young guitar star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, rocker Webb Wilder, rock icon Duane Eddy, mandolin wizard Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas, and The Orphan Brigade providing background vocals.

Of the new album Copeland says, “I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.”