Matraca Berg – Lying To The Moon & Other Stories
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Posted On September 1, 1999
A Nashville vet at age 18 when she wrote her first #1 for T.G. Sheppard, Matraca Berg got a chance at a solo career in 1990 when RCA released her debut, Lying To The Moon. It became one of the best female country records to be found in the new traditionalist wake left by Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, et al. Its themes chronicled the unbending spirit of country girls dealing with the complications and heartbreak found in a more cosmopolitan world. Reflecting influences from Loretta Lynn to Bobbie Gentry, the record generated four top-20 country hits.
But the increasing depth of Berg’s material flummoxed RCA’s Nashville division. Unsure of how to market her second album, they rejected it and banished her to L.A., hoping for another Bonnie Raitt. The resulting album bombed, drowning in studio slickness. RCA dropped her.
Meanwhile, Nashville was catching up to Berg. Artists like Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood and Deana Carter started hitting with Berg’s songs. Finally, she got another recording chance when Rising Tide released Sunday Morning To Saturday Night in 1997. The record was a successful return to form, but Rising Tide sunk just as sales were picking up.
Lying To The Moon & Other Stories returns some of Berg’s early recordings to print. Eight of its twelve tracks were on the original Lying To The Moon album, with the balance drawn from an unreleased project.
