25 Albums I Can't Live Without: #5

Maria McKee, "You Gotta Sin to Get Saved"

I don’t remember exactly when I first heard of Lone Justice. Their first album came out when I was in middle school, and it wasn’t exactly the kind of music the radio stations would play. But what I do know is that the lead singer’s voice captivated me.

After two albums, Lone Justice called it quits, and Maria McKee began her solo career. Her first, self-titled album was stellar, but it’s her sophomore effort that I want to focus on today because it’s a masterpiece.

“You Gotta Sin to Get Saved” is remarkable because it’s retro and fresh at the same time. In a piece I wrote at PJ Media, I called the album “a set of country-rock songs that cultivate the right kind of ‘70s, Laurel Canyon vibe.”

“My Girlhood Among the Outlaws” is a semi-autobiographical chronicle of her time in Lone Justice and the alt-country music scene in Los Angeles. Her Christian faith comes through in lines like “I tried to live outside grace, and I was humbled.”

“Only Once” is one of two songs that does full retro-country, while “I Forgive You” is a big, bombastic, ‘60s-inspired powerhouse.

A trio of covers from the ‘60s and ‘70s add to the album’s old-school richness. She tackles Van Morrison’s “My Lonely Sad Eyes” and “The Way Young Lovers Do” as if she discovered them for the first time, and she covers Dusty Springfield’s “I Can’t Make It Alone” masterfully (and it’s my favorite song of hers to harmonize to).

The title cut closes the album, and it’s a glorious, tongue-in-cheek romp about a woman who wants to sow her wild oats before settling down.

Her efforts after “You Gotta Sin to Get Saved” were spotty but had their moments of brilliance. But there’s no denying this singular talent.

Photo credit: Jim Akin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons