Music is Medicine.
 
    
  
Pure Honey
[4 out of 4 stars]
Honeysuckle Vine

Sarah Elizabeth Burkey

Singer/songwriter Sarah Elizabeth's rural Kentucky roots and her sweet soprano voice are woven into a delightful artistic creation on Honeysuckle Vine. With a captivating voice that could lull sailors into a trance and a classic folksy style, this musical siren works her way through 10 songs that share stories of love and loss.

Several of the songs, including "Rural Route Girl," and "Pickin' Time" were penned by Sarah Elizabeth. Her way with words is an easy one. And her delivery is even smoother.

Several tracks are covers of traditional folk standards and spirituals that Sarah learned as a child, including "Hide Me Rock of Ages" and "High on a Mountain." It's a joyful noise. In fact, Sarah Elizabeth's mesmerizing delivery of John Fogerty's "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade" is so sultry that the words seem to melt right out of her mouth.
Missy Baxter, The Courier-Journal



Honeysuckle Vine
Sarah Elizabeth Burkey

The dulcet tones of singer/stringplucker Sarah Elizabeth are high and lonesome on this recording. Sarah Elizabeth has a fine way with a country folk tune and good instincts about choosing material. She also has an impossibly airy high soprano that has to be heard to be believed. Comparisons to Emmylou Harris are not out of line.

The first song out of the gate is an original by Sarah Elizabeth. It is a very strong reel called "Rural Route Girl," with an absolutely wicked fiddle part. The lines are timeless and could have been written (or orally transmitted) 100 years ago or last week. Each song here is a delicate little gem. The backing is minimal. The recording is by no means "warm," but this does not seem to be a drawback. Rather, the cold crispness of the recording underscores the music's similarity to a mountain stream; just as icy and just as crystal clear.
Paul Kopasz, LEO