Album of the Day-April 21
Melissa Etheridge — Brave and Crazy
Melissa Etheridge — Brave and Crazy
21 April 2020
Melissa Etheridge
Brave and Crazy
1989
Melissa Etheridge’s Grammy Nominated second album, Brave and Crazy, doesn’t suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump. It’s a natural progression of both sound and artistic growth.
The same progression that she continues today.
Of course, now we know that Melissa Etheridge is a lesbian, but in 1989, we didn’t know and the world was different. In hindsight, we see/hear the lyrics through that lens, but they transcend any sort of specific gender specificity. These are songs about love, loss, pain, and reflection…and regardless of how you identify or what your preference is, you’re gonna relate.
Jaysus, that seems to be a consistent theme in these albums I’m choosing. I’m not sure what that says about me or the artists.
Anyway, over the years, Melissa Etheridge has come to be known as a lesbian first and rocker second. I feel this is narrow-minded and reductive. Take one listen to Brave and Crazy or her self-titled (also Grammy Nominated) debut and you’ll hear a fucking great singer and songwriter, with a sound that is uniquely her own.
Melissa Etheridge is a force of talent who can hold her own against anyone. Regardless of gender…just listen to her and Sammy Hagar duet on The Rolling Stones “Honkey Tonk Woman.”
I think through a modern lens one can forget just how hard it was then, and shamefully still is, for a woman to break through in rock and roll, regardless of sexual identity or preference. Which makes the success that Melissa Etheridge earned all the more powerful because she built her fan base in the most basic of ways — with talent and mettle.
Of course, Melissa Etheridge is an icon, she’s a fuckin’ rock icon.