Description
Twelve songs recorded straight to two-track, the adrenalized country music on “This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983” captures a fiery band at the beginning of its impressive run. The L.A. country rock band, birthed by vocalist Maria McKee and guitarist Ryan Hedgecock, is best known for its run of near-misses (despite being managed by a young Jimmy Iovine) in the mid-’80s, but before signing with Geffen Records it buzzed through town on the wings of McKee’s soprano.
Recorded in the San Fernando Valley, “This Is Lone Justice” introduces McKee & Co. with a combination of covers and originals. Among the classics they tackle are Merle Haggard’s “Working Man’s Blues,” the George Jones/Roger Miller song “Nothing Can Stop My Loving You” and the oft-recorded “Jackson.” The song selection suggests a band that had internalized a heck of a lot of country ideas at a young age.
