ANNE MCCUE SWINGS ON BLUE SKY THINKIN’;SIXTH SOLO OUTING HITS THE SWEET SPOTWHERE BLUES MEETS JAZZFeatures collaborations with David Olney and Dave Alvin;Set for Release on February 10, 2015 viaFlying Machine RecordsNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Blue Sky Thinkin’ is the album Anne McCue has been waiting herwhole life to make, even though she didn’t realize it. She initially planned to make abluesy, swampy album as the follow-up to 2010’s guitar-focused CD Broken PromiseLand. However, after she wrote the jaunty, jazzy tune “Blue Sky Thinkin’,” itreawakened her love for swing era music. So, as she explains it, instead of doinganother album with Neil Young or the early Rolling Stones as musical guideposts,McCue did one where Hoagy Carmichael, Billie Holliday, and George Gershwinserved as her hallmarks.McCue’s affection for this pre-rock music is evident in the disc’s gorgeously craftedsongs; they sound so authentically vintage that you’ll be checking the credits to seewhat Tin Pan Alley tunesmith wrote them. “Things You Left Out in the Rain,” with itswoozy horns punctuating McCue’s chanteuse-like purr, and “It Wasn’t Even Fun WhileIt Lasted,” a lighthearted romp about heartbreak, suggest long lost gems that mighthave appeared in a ’30s musical. “Save a Life” evokes Peggy Lee’s smoky aura, whileMcCue professes that the acoustic blues “Cowgirl Blues” offers a nod to another of herfavorite artists, Memphis Minnie.Those who know McCue for her rugged blues rock music will connect to “Little WhiteCat,” a ’50s-style roadhouse boogie that she notes is the most modern cut on therelease. Written as a more positive-looking reply to Howlin’ Wolf’s “Ain’tSuperstitious,” the tune also reveals her love for Cab Calloway, as does “Devil in theMiddle,” a darkly dramatic song (co-written with David Olney and John Hadley) thatfeatures a duet with Dave Alvin. McCue was thrilled to get Alvin to sing with herbecause his “beautiful, deep voice” made him McCue’s first choice for the track.Blue Sky Thinkin’ also affords McCue the opportunity to showcase her critically hailedguitar prowess in new and often more subtle ways. Her blues playing here favors amore acoustic variety, such as the Lightnin’ Hopkins-style picking on “Cowgirl Blues.”More often she salutes her jazz guitar idols. Her fluid licks in “Knock on Wood” and thetitle track pay tribute to the great jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, and the gypsy jazzplaying on “Dig Two Graves” speaks to her affection for Django Reinhardt. The tangotouches, meanwhile, in “Uncanny Moon” reflect her admiration for Argentinian musiclegend Astor Piazzola.It might seem unusual that McCue was influenced by so much music made decadesbefore she was born; however, this was the music she heard at home growing up inAustralia. “My parents were from the World War II generation,” she explained. “Thiswas their music and I listened to it as much as New Wave and punk as a kid.” Apivotal moment in her musical enlightenment, McCue reveals, was discovering theBenny Goodman album He’s Funny That Way in a Sydney record store when she was14 years old. “When I bought it, the guy looked at me (dressed very alternatively) andsaid, ‘you want to buy this, hey?’ He was quite incredulous. I played that disc a lot! Iloved it, and still have it.”Jazz, in fact, was one of McCue’s main musical genres alongside Rock when she wasplaying in Australia, before she found her groove in Americana and Blues in America.Following Broken Promise Land, she took some time off. Rediscovering her passion formusic of the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s served to get her excited about making music again.“It was very easy to write this way,” she admits. “It was so natural.”To help bring her vision to life, McCue turned to some old friends: bassist/co-producerDusty Wakeman, drummer Dave Raven and keyboardist Carl Byron. This trio ofveteran Los Angeles sidemen (whose collective resumes include work with RoyOrbison, Bo Diddley, Nancy Sinatra, Warren Zevon and Dwight Yoakam) was her bandon her breakout debut, Roll. McCue raves, “they just instinctively knew what to do”;so in sync that they recorded the final six songs in less than two days.She returned to her current home, Nashville, to finish the album. Ray Kennedy (SteveEarle, Emmylou Harris), who mastered the CD, expressed his love for Blue SkyThinkin’, and he’s not alone. Veteran music executive Eddie Gomez hailed the albumas “a bona fide collection of new standards for a generation that hungers for the goodstuff.” Noted songwriter David Olney, who collaborated with McCue on several BlueSky numbers, describes her as “fearless and tender and alluring.”Even when she’s not making her own, McCue has a life full of music. The release sheproduced for Emma Swift just got a Best Country Album nomination by the AustralianRecord Industry Association (alongside acts like Keith Urban and Kasey Chambers).McCue has projects in the works such as a children’s book and CD, and she hosts theSongs on the Wire show on the Internet station East Nashville Radio, an experiencethat she says has brought her a “new respect for my fellow song writers.”McCue, who has been operating as a wholly independent artist for the past sevenyears, turned to Indiegogo to help complete Blue Sky Thinkin’. While she was terrifiedat first, she found it to be a great experience, admitting, “I cried when the firstcontributions started coming in. Live audiences have had “a fantastic response” to thenew tunes, she reports, and she can’t wait to share Blue Sky Thinkin’ with morepeople. “It’s a fun, uplifting album . . . I want to make other people’s lives happier.”