On November 19th, Glide Magazine premiered the first song from Julie Christensen’s upcoming album “11 from Kevin.” The single, “Find My Way,” is available on all platforms, released by WireBird Records.
“When vocalist and songwriter Julie Christensen first heard Nashville singer-songwriter Kevin Gordon perform, she found herself recalling the first song that made her cry: the Funny Girl soundtrack tune, “The Music that Makes Me Dance.” Having built her career around forging connections through song — including stints as Leonard Cohen’s backing vocalist — Christensen knows the value of a sticky melody and well-crafted lyrics (not to mention making people dance). But Gordon’s artful music and cinematically sweeping, vividly drawn emotional and physical landscapes reached her on a deeper level: she recognized their terrain, because she’d traveled it, too.
Christensen and her band, Stone Cupid, recorded Gordon’s “Saint on a Chain” for their 2016 album, The Cardinal. But in 2020, she decided someone should record an entire collection of the Louisiana native’s songs. When she floated the idea to him, she suggested “someone more famous” ought to have the honors. “No,” he responded. “I’m glad it’s you.” The result, 11 From Kevin: Songs of Kevin Gordon, will be released on January 21, 2022 — Christensen’s birthday — on Wirebird Records.
After a listen to these 11 From Kevin tracks, the tongues of Gordon’s fans, Christensen’s fans, or previously uncommitted listeners should also remember the shape of her name.
Today Glide is excited to premiere her rendition of “Find My Way,” which serves as the first track on the album and rightfully so. Christensen exudes soul as she absorbs the song and presents it in her own fashion. Compared to Gordon’s version, which is a slowburning roots rocker, Christensen gives it a bluesy Southern rock treatment that brightens the track even more. Her vocals get amplified by greasy slide guitar and even more soloing than the original, ultimately giving the track a full sound that truly showcases just how great of a songwriter Gordon is while also putting her vocals in the spotlight.
“’Find My Way’ is the lead track on 11 From Kevin—Songs Of Kevin Gordon, out on WireBird records January 21, 2022. East Nashville’s Kevin Gordon and Gwil Owen penned this song, and it appears on two of Gordon’s solo albums Salvage And Drift Vol. 1, a collection made up of home demos and live versions of his songs from 1994-2009 — and the I Come Look At The Burning album from 2005. These are both very different versions of the song. My take is different yet again: a straight-ahead rocker with maybe a little southern rock influence. In my formative years in Iowa, my brothers and I were the first kids on our block with ZZ Top and Little Feat records. I recorded this song and eclectic album with my compadres throughout 2020, in fits and starts and distances and masks. It doesn’t sound as if that was the case. On the contrary.” —Julie Christensen, November 2021”
-Glide Magazine