It takes only a few moments of listening to her latest CD, “Lucky,” to know it presents a strikingly new Melissa Etheridge as she proclaims on the CD-opening title song, “I want to see how lucky Lucky can be.”
This enthusiasm contrasts sharply with an artist who over her first several albums was known for immersing herself in romantic and personal upheavals and trauma. Songs like “I’m the Only One” or “Come to My Window” showed not only a deep longing for true love and happiness, but almost a desperation.
Some reviewers went as far as to say that Etheridge seemed to celebrate the idea it was all right to be in destructive or obsessive relationships – a sentiment she doesn’t share.
“I never had a conscious thought of ‘Hey, it’s OK to be in a destructive relationship.’ That definitely wasn’t my point at all,” Etheridge said in a recent interview. “I do know that I spent a lot of time, what is the word I’m looking for, allowing myself to wallow a bit in that, and then asking the audience, ‘Come with me, let’s wallow. And then let’s say that we’re the only one and find some strength in it.’ I indulged that. I indulged myself in that, and a lot of people came along with me.”
That’s a side she doesn’t plan to return to.
“You’re not going to hear that from me again,” she said. “I still play those songs. I love them. I am in the moment with them … but I cannot see, I can’t imagine a reason to write a lyric like that again.”
Her previous studio CD, “Skin” (2001), was written in the aftermath of Etheridge’s very public split in October 2000 with Julie Cypher, her romantic partner for the preceding dozen years and the woman who bore the couple’s two children (Bailey, 6, and Beckett, 5, both of whom were fathered by David Crosby).
“Skin” was very much a breakup album.
Since then, Etheridge has married actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.
“It was an incredible experience,” Etheridge said of the elaborate wedding ceremony. “And I could never have done it without being so completely in love and it being the right thing. It completely cemented it (the relationship). There are no leaks whatsoever.”
That sense of happiness is evident on “Lucky.” The CD brings back the spirited heartland rock sound of Etheridge’s early CDs.
Songs like “Secret Agent,” “Kiss Me” and “Giant” are brisk and confident, with Etheridge’s familiar raspy vocals backed by hooky guitar riffs and crackling rhythms. And while there are a few gentle ballads (“Will You Still Love Me” and “Meet Me in the Dark”), other songs that notch down the tempo, such as “This Moment” and “Breathe,” are expansive and lively.
Etheridge, born and raised in Leavenworth, Kan., said she intentionally went into the process of making “Lucky” wanting to crank up the volume and rock out.
With her personal life now happier than ever, Etheridge said her relationship with her audience has changed. She no longer looks to her fans to fill an emotional void.
“It got to a point where I got everything from the audience. I got all the self, any good feelings, I’d just fill it up from the audience,” Etheridge said. “And I’m like ‘OK, that’s a dangerous road to go down, and that’s not OK.’ … I don’t look out into the audience with that empty black hole and that longing anymore. Now I walk out and go ‘Yeehaw, we’re going to have a celebration. We’re going to have a party.’ I can’t wait to get on stage.”
Melissa Etheridge
8 p.m. Thursday, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center; $35-$75, 206-628-0888.
Melissa Etheridge
8 p.m. Thursday, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center; $35-$75, 206-628-0888.
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