Shannon McNally

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Blend of folk, country, rock, and blues

Status:

Most recent release, Black Irish (2017)

See also:

Shannon McNally's site

Shannon McNally's Facebook page

Wikipedia's entry on Shannon McNally

Comparisons:

Joan Osborne, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow

She gets a lot of Sheryl Crow comparisons, but to me she sounds like Joan Osborne on Relish, which is not a bad thing. Not at all. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Recommended first album:

Jukebox Sparrows

Recordings:

Solo releases:

• Bolder Than Paradise EP (2000)
• Jukebox Sparrows (2002)
• Run for Cover (covers, 2004)
• Geronimo (2005)
• Napster Live EP (2005)
• North American Ghost Music (live, 2006)
• Light Walker Demos EP (2012)
• Western Ballad (2011)
• Small Town Talk (covers, 2013)
• Black Irish (2017)

Collaborative releases:

• Ran on Pure Lightning (as Shannon McNally and Neal Casal, 2003)
• Southside Sessions (as Charlie Sexton & Shannon McNally, 2006)
• Coldwater (as Shannon McNally and Hot Sauce, 2009)

Jukebox Sparrows

Release info:

2002—Capitol Records—CDP 7243 4 93455 2 2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Shannon McNally—vocals, backwards fuzz solo (10), toy piano (11)

Guest artists:

James Gadson—drums
Bob Glaub—bass
Greg Leisz—electric guitar, lap steel, pedal steel, guitar
Joshua Grange—guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, chamberlain, background vocals
Gregg Kurstin—organ, Wurlitzer, synth, piano
Ron Aniello—mellotron, farfisa, toy piano, electric guitar, organ, Wurlitzer, percussion, guitar, keyboards
Walter Rodrigues—percussion
Kate Minor, Rachel Diggs—background vocals (1)
Brian McCloud—drums
Paul Bushnell—bass
Bill Payne—Wurlitzer, organ, piano
Pamela Kurstin—theremin
Matt Chamberlain—drums
Mike Elizondo—bass
Lenny Castro—percussion
Waddy Wachtel—guitar
Patrick Warren, Rami Jaffee—keyboards
Benmont Tench—organ
Maxi Anderson and Alex Brown—background vocals (5)
Jim Keltner—drums, percussion
John Leftwich—bass
Matt Rollins—organ, piano
Aaron Embry—piano, keyboards, organ
Steve Porcaro—string samples, Wurlitzer, organ
David Prich—piano
David Woodford—baritone sax Bill Hayes—percussion

Produced by:

Ron Aniello; track 4 produced by Andrew Slater

Comments:

I don't remember seeing much talk about Shannon yet on ecto, but I highly, highly recommend her disc Jukebox Sparrows.
     One of my favorite local djs (Luther Watts on KBAC in Santa Fe) played her song "It Could Have Been Me," and I found it very disturbing—it's about a serial killer of hitchhikers and it was sort of reminiscent in tone of Jewel's "Nicotine Love" (for those of you lucky enough to have heard that old time never-to-see-the-light-of-day number).
     This album really captured my attention when I got it early this year. Shannon shows surprising depth and maturity in her vocal style, and stylistically this album covers a lot of territory—from sparse, folk-like tunes to over-produced stuff that sounds a bit like Sheryl Crow—still a very solid effort and a great debut.
     Anyway, the album is pretty varied—from stripped down acoustic folk to bluesy, somewhat overproduced bluesy rock a la Bonnie Raitt or the like, but a lot of it is extremely likeable and Shannon's got a great way with both words and phrasing for someone so young.
     Definitely an artist to watch. (jjhanson@att.net)

I LOVE Shannon McNally and have been waiting for this cd for over a year (when I saw her on The Girls Room Tour with three other fantastic women)...it's an amazing cd, she has a great sound. (RocketsTail@aol.com)

A very promising, if uneven debut. I love her voice and bluesy style. There are a number of songs that leave me cold, but I think about half the album is truly outstanding ("Down and Dirty," "Now That I Know" especially). (JoAnn Whetsell)

Geronimo

Release info:

2005—Back Porch Records—72434-77269-2-7

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Shannon McNally—vocals, acoustic guitar

Guest artists:

Raymond Weber—drums, percussion
Tony Garnier—bass, upright bass
Ian McLagan—piano, B3, clavinet
Greg Leisz—pedal steel, electric, and acoustic high-strung guitars, lap steel, weissenborn, banjo, mando guitar
Charlie Sexton—acoustic, electric, baritone, octave, lap steel, acoustic 12-string, and nylon string guitars, percussion, pump organ, organ, piano, tambo, 6-string bass, bazouki, village drum, harmony vocals
Tony Hall—bass
Courtney Audain—talking drum, tambo, shaker, triangle

Produced by:

Charlie Sexton

Comments:

Shannon's sophomore album delivers on the promise of her debut. The sound is more polished (though not overly so) and more solidly rock and country-rock, but still mixes a wide range of styles and influences. (JoAnn Whetsell)

North American Ghost Music

Release info:

2006—Back Porch Records—09463-39026-2-6

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Shannon McNally—vocals, guitar

Guest artists:

Dave Easley—guitar, backing vocals
Sam Price—bass, backing vocals
David Stocker—keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Sean Staples—mandolin
Wallace Lester—drums

Comments:

This is a great collection of live recordings, including 2 covers. Shannon's voice is even more raw live than on record, but the tunes are somewhat more laidback than their studio versions which makes for an interesting mix. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Further info:

Shannon McNally recorded the song "As Long As I Live" for the 2003 compilation album Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen. A live version of "Now That I Know" appears on Radio Woodstock (2005). Collaborative albums include Ran on Pure Lightning with Neal Casal (2003) and The Southside Sessions with Charlie Sexton (2006).

Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.