Description
Molly Tuttle became the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitarist of the Year award. That was back in 2017, and she garnered that honor again the following year, when she also nabbed the Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year award. So, when Tuttle, 27, announced that she would be releasing an album of cover songs, the assumption was she would be serving up a menu of bluegrass and country music favorites. …But I’d Rather Be With You is not that anticipated album. Instead, it’s a record that uses songs to push Tuttle beyond these expectations — perhaps hers as much as ours.
She takes on alt-rock material by The National and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Dives into a punk anthem by Rancid. Breathes new life into classic rock fare by the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead. She bonds with the stylized compositions of Arthur Russell, Karen Dalton, and Yusuf/Cat Stevens. And plugs into the contemporary music landscape via songs by FKA Twigs and Harry Styles. A pretty wild ride, yes, but Tuttle navigates the course with supreme cool. It’s also a remarkably warm and personal record made in a most COVID conscious, high-tech way. Tuttle worked closely with producer Tony Berg: assembling the tracks various musicians recorded in various parts of the country and mixing them at computer workstations.
The album’s title comes from the lyrics of the Grateful Dead’s “Standing on the Moon,” a song Tuttle has made a showstopper in concert. She considers it an ode to her native San Francisco. This country-leaning version of the tune features Dawes’s Taylor Goldsmith sharing vocals, and demonstrates Tuttle’s ability to deliver on a big, healing anthem just as well as she can on the quieter, more personal songs. …But I’d Rather Be With You was born out of a frustrating time for Tuttle – for all of us really. But in the end this powerful and unique project encouraged her to connect with vital pieces of her musical past, revealing dimensions of an artist that are sure to inspire brilliant new music in the future.
