ARLINGTON PRIEST: The Memory of Your Company

Arlington Priest

The Memory of Your Company

© 2006 Arlington Priest (837101224796)

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Arlington Priest creates Americana marked with beautiful harmonies, emotionally charged lyrics and a timeless, soulful style.

tracks

1 Long Day
2 Dustin
3 Solomon
4 Mexico
5 Almost Home
6 Sarah
7 Petersburg
8 The Stone
9 Tonight
10 Why Need Not Love
11 The Memory of Your Company
12 With Me (Bonus Track)

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notes

When Rhett and Jill McAllister started writing songs together about three years ago, they introduced their audience to a timeless, soulful sound....riding the thin line that divides the mainstream from the eclectic. Using their harmonies, evocative lyrics, and a bare-bones sincere presentation, Arlington Priest stand with their roots planted firmly in contemporary folk, while swaggering through a glorious mixture of acoustic rock, alt-country, and pop to land squarely in the fields of Americana.

With music that is bittersweet, heartbreaking and ever evolving, Jill's voice evokes ghosts of 60's female singer/songwriters - strong yet vulnerable - capable of belting it out or quietly crooning to a whisper, without losing its emotive force. Rhett's guitar and vocals are resonating and grounding, bringing to mind the warmth of a blanket wrapping around you on a cold stormy night. Onstage, in between bouts of beautifully constructed songwriting, their playful relationship shines through. Rhett's dark, quiet sarcasm is the perfect match to Jill's silly and crass sense of humor. Its like seeing Basil Fawlty and Bette Midler's Bath House Betty affectionately duking it out in front of you.

Having established themselves as a talented powerhouse in Atlanta and all over the Southeast, Arlington Priest is readying themselves for the release of their first studio album, The Memory of Your Company. After three years of touring and recording, trying to put down ideas onto tape with various producers, Rhett and Jill finally found the musical solace and cooperation they had been looking for in Will Robertson, the group's session/live bass player. With a good dose of helpful arranging from Robertson, Arlington Priest is establishing their identity in the territory of Americana. Rich with imaginative tales, longing and heartbreak, it's sure to capture your imagination, as it has theirs.

reviews

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  • Refreshing, pure talent and memorable songs
    author: Scott Whitesell Productions

    In any music genre, albums are given to contain a few good tunes that the listener latches onto while the rest are shortly forgotten. When I first listened to The Memory of Your Company, I honestly enjoyed (and still enjoy) every selection. Rhett's lyrics are deeply contemplative without being too abstract; they range from angst to sheer joy and are perfectly set to the musical styles with an edge that transgresses contemporary folk. The most shining aspect of this CD, however, is the use of talented vocals. When Jill and Rhett sing together, the harmonies are musically playful at times. At others they are tight and wonderfully intense. The listener also gets to enjoy the subtle, and different, inflections of their solo voices. "The Memory of Your Company" is a must-have, not just for someone who loves contemporary folk - but for any music aficionado who loves great singing and great songs.

  • What a voice
    author: Tim Haigh

    With strong songwriting, and lush playing, this CD is one to treasure. Jill has a voice to die for, and this disc only misses on 5 stars because I want more of her (which is very hard on Rhett, because he is a good singer: it's just that she is great.) The best track on the album is the hidden one, With Me, and I find myself playing that one over and over. Oh boy.

  • Excellent!
    author: Jack

    Excellent! Restaurant quality! Not a weak song on the disk. It's been in my car for two weeks now. Best I've heard in a long, long time.

  • From The Atlanta Creative Loafing
    author: Lee Valentine Smith

    Published 09.06.06 by Creative Loafing (Atlanta) After three years of persistent performing and several unsuccessful tries, Decatur acoustic scene regulars Jill and Rhett McAllister have finally released a full-length studio album. Joined by a team of talented players, the duo's songs resonate with the warm strum of gentle, intelligent Americana that doesn't pander to current trends. Eschewing unnecessary country plunk, it stands as a delicate example of modern, defiantly independent folk rock. Producer Will Robertson wisely jumps right into the mix, adding bass, piano, organ, guitar, mandolin and even tambourine, building a nice and easy-swaying framework for the Arlington Priest one-two punch. The dual vocals of the married McAllisters, with their rich, varied textures of timbre, inform the songs with a gauzy, vaguely retro flavor, tinting each delicate memory play like a sun-faded photograph. 4 (out of 5) stars

  • From The Sunday Paper in Atlanta, GA
    author: Kevin Moreau

    Sept. 3 - Sept. 9 edition Rhett and Jill McAllister of husband-and-wife Atlanta folk duo (now folk band) Arlington Priest call upon some impressive names -- including Russell Cook of the talented bluegrass trio Little Country Giants, pedal steel pro Mark Van Allen and singer-songwriter-guitarist Clay Cook -- to flesh out their debut studio release. And so "The Memory of Your Company" is a bright, professional effort. Accessible, clutter-free arrangements (the college-radio-friendly "Almost Home") and a strong sense of dynamics (like the way Ned Henry's violin sounds like a sweeping string section on "Petersburg") make for a confident, full-sounding record. But the dynamic that really drives "Memory" is the complementary one between the principals themselves. Indeed, there are moments -- wispy, sneeze-and-you'll-miss-them flashes -- when the McAllisters almost conjure echoes of Richard and Linda Thompson. For singer-guitarist Rhett, that's not much of a stretch; his stately tenor often recalls Richard Thompson's sense of pained elegance, especially on "Long Day" or "Solomon," when he asks, "Should all things perish for the games we play?" Jill, meanwhile, sings with a charismatic warmth, largely avoiding the affectation that hobbles so many female rock and country singers; while some lines flutter over several notes, threatening an attack of "American Idol" melisma, she also shows admirable restraint in the service of the organically soaring melodies that drive "The Stone," "Dustin," and "Almost Home." (Not everyone, after all, can belt like Jennifer Nettles and pull it off.) The tradeoff between vocalists keeps things from becoming stale, adding another agreeable layer to this assured debut. 3 stars (out of 4)

  • From the Access Atlanta and The Atlanta Journal Constitution
    author: Shane Harrison

    A sweet and worldly melancholy runs through this rootsy batch of beautiful tunes and even more beautiful harmonies. The voices of Rhett and Jill McAllister achieve a distinctive blend, but the female half of the duo is especially impressive when she takes the lead. She's forceful on the rocking "Almost Home" and delivers the title track with quiet intensity. It's an album of simple, satisfying pleasures.

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