“Hilary Scott Is Living Freight Train Love”

Joe Montague of Riveting Riffs has this to say about Hilary Scott’s new album, Freight Train Love:

“Hilary Scott Is Living Freight Train Love”

“Hilary Scott, from St. Louis Missouri has a new record out and it is called Freight Train Love. The album is worth buying for a lot of reasons, but in our minds at Riveting Riffs Magazine one of the most significant reasons is Scott’s cover of Nicolette Larson’s “Lotta Love,” (written by Neil Young). Hilary Scott who demonstrates a lot of vocal and artistic diversity with her new album gifts us with an incredible interpretation of the song. The tempo is slowed down, Nicolette Larson’s louder, Pop vocals have been supplanted by a more sensuous, romantic and quieter performance by Hilary Scott.

“I give credit to Michael O’Neill for saying, have you ever thought about covering “Lotta Love.” I just feel like you could really reinterpret this. It would be a tribute to Nicolette Larson too. I love Neil Young. I think that he is a really great songwriter, but I probably would have thought of other Neil Young songs before that one. I did not want it to come across as anything like what it was before. To me it is a really profound love song and I didn’t feel that necessarily it had been done that way before. That is why I decided to sing it this way. It came out easily and it is a song that was very short and there is not a lot to the lyrics. I felt that I could vocalize on it and I could bring out some emotions that weren’t necessarily tied to what I was saying,” says Scott.

Hilary Scott who has released numerous records during the past decade says about her new album, “For me it is a pivotal record, because it is the first time that I have really tried to get a bigger team together. We have a publicist and we are doing radio and for an independent artist that is a big investment. I feel like it is a safe investment, because I am very proud of this record and the sound of it and I don’t feel like it sounds like an indie record. It sounds like a big record. I have a lot of hope invested in it, but I have also been doing this enough that I know successes come in increments. I haven’t hit it big on the radio, but I have all of these successes that to me make up a career. It is not that I put all of my eggs in one basket or that I am expecting the world is going to explode and suddenly I am going to be on top of it. I feel like this has a chance to propel me to the next level. If any of my records have had that chance, this one does.”…

… “Freight Train Love,” the title song from the new album opens gently with Mike Finnigan’s (Jimi Hendrix, Cher, Peter Frampton, Etta James, Leonard Cohen, Rod Stewart) piano, which later segues to the organ and drummer Tony Braunagel’s (Rickie Lee Jones, Eric Burdon, Bonnie Raitt) subtle drumming and features Johnny Lee Schell (Barbara Blue, Bonnie Raitt) on guitar. Schell also engineered and mixed this album. The mood is contemplative, as the singer considers her relationship. “Freight Train Love,” is one of the best songs that Riveting Riffs Magazine has listened to this year. Hilary Scott has been a secret that has been kept from too many for far too long. She knows how to turn a phrase and her vocal technique is excellent, while her tone is clear. Backed by a stellar cast of musicians, Scott and co-writer and producer Michael O’Neill have created a gem…”

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