Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Felicity Urquhart, ABC Music/Universal Music Australia 2019.
Felicity Urquhart seems to have been around forever.
For Felicity the past 10 years has seen her experience a lot of change from marriage and motherhood and on to her high profile role as host of the ABC’s national Saturday Night Country radio program, not to mention the demands of her increasing television presence as well.
Considering this heavy workload it’s remarkable that she found some time to record a new album of original material.
Frozen Rabbit was produced by her husband and longtime collaborator, Glen Hannah, and he and Felicity assembled a crack team of musicians to help complete the project.
The result is an album firmly rooted in the timeless sounds of traditional country music.
Acoustic instruments predominate such as dobro and mandolin, fiddle, pedal slide, banjo etc.
The title track was the first song that they started working on. It was co-written with Aussie music icon Mark Seymour and it sets the sonic tone for the album.
The album showcases Felicity’s delightful vocal skills and her captivating lyricism and love for country music.
All the songs are good and show that Felicity is a masterful songwriter.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise from someone who has amassed a list of achievements that very few can match.
In addition to her radio hosting she is an eight-time Golden Guitar winner with seven studio albums to her credit, she’s been nominated for an ARIA, won a CMA International Broadcaster award and performed for both the Pope and the President of the USA.
Regular readers will know that country music is not normally one of my true loves but I can tell you that I know quality when I hear it and Felicity Urquhart is the real deal.
She is not only a fabulous performer but she is a talented songwriter and it’s the songs that are the great strength of this album.
To coincide with the album’s release she has somehow made time to tour South Australia and venues in Victoria, NSW (including Tamworth of course) and Queensland.
