Buddy & Julie leave melancholy mark

By D.S. Martin and ChristianWeek | April 24, 2009

Buddy and Julie Miller have been leaving a mark on the American music scene for quite some time. If you're a country fan, or if you're more like me and just love great music, they are a treasure worth discovering.

Their new album, Written In Chalk, is only the second collection they've released jointly—although they've been performing together since before their marriage in 1981 and are ubiquitous on each other's CDs. Julie released a total of six records in the 1980s and 1990s, while Buddy has five, including his sensational 2004 Universal United House Of Prayer, which was album of the year at the Americana Music Awards that year.

Written In Chalk is an alt-country smorgasbord. It begins with the mournful "Ellis County" where Buddy sings, "Take me back / when times were hard but we didn't know it / if we ate it we had to grow it." As he sings, it's hard to remember this isn't about his own childhood; most of these songs flowed from Julie's pen when Buddy was away touring. This probably explains the loneliness that broods over the album.

Julie is best known for her songwriting—Emmylou Harris covered her gospel song "All My Tears" on Wrecking Ball and Levon Helm recorded Buddy & Julie's "Wide River To Cross" for his latest CD. It should be no surprise, then, that eight of the songs on Written In Chalk were solely written by her. "Take me back when Daddy led the singing on Sunday / Nobody had to plow until Monday...Take me back again."

From there the CD rockets into "Gasoline and Matches," a rocking tribute to the chemistry between them as a couple, which, appropriately, they co-wrote. The third song is the jazz ballad "Don't Say Goodbye," featuring Julie's richly expressive little-girl voice: "I'm drinkin' rain and taking pictures in the dark / with some flowers in my hair and a hole inside my heart." Taken out of context, you'd never call this country music—not with its sensuous, muted trumpet.

Buddy is best known for his guitar playing, having toured with Emmylou Harris—as lead guitarist for her band Spyboy—with Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt and recently with Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, appearing at this year's Grammy Awards. He has performed on recordings by many, including Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams and Bill Mallonee. With his work on Solomon Burke's recent album, Buddy is also gaining a reputation as a producer.

One difficulty I have listening to Written In Chalk is reconciling the man, Buddy Miller, with the multiple perspectives of the songs he sings, particularly on the covers. "One Part, Two Part" is familiar country fare about a troubled relationship; The Mel Tillis song, "What You Gonna Do Leroy,"—which Buddy sings with former Led Zeppelin frontman, Robert Plant—is from the point-of-view of a man whose wife is unfaithful. With the sad tone of many of Julie's songs, such as "Hush, Sorrow" or "Every Time We Say Goodbye," one could suspect some trouble between them.

"Memphis Jane" is about a troubled woman whom Julie met. But having Buddy (as a male) sing the lead makes it seem like a totally different sort of encounter. The entire CD was recorded in Nashville at the Millers' own Dogtown Studio, except for "Leroy" which was recorded in Toronto last summer in the dressing room before the Allison & Robert show at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Included is a beautifully sad song Julie wrote, at the death of June Carter Cash, from the perspective of the husband left behind. "Chalk" is yet another song about heartaches. It concludes: "We don't know all the trouble we're in / We don't know how to get home again / Jesus come and save us from our sin."

On February 19 Buddy suffered a heart attack while on tour in Baltimore; the following day he had a triple bypass, and is currently recovering. Keep your eyes on their website for when they begin the tour for Written In Chalk.