After a quick listen to
Balls
, it's hard to imagine why
Warner Brothers
dropped
Elizabeth Cook
after only one album. Could she have sounded too
traditional
for
country
radio? Did they want her to tone down her in-your-face delivery? The mysteries of major labels are many and unfathomable, so suffice it to say that
Cook
is a major talent and will undoubtedly wind up with another major-label deal.
has the same power and charm evident on her earlier outings and the bonus of
Rodney Crowell
's sharp production talents. Every track crackles like a pork fat fueled barbecue fire, full of the spunk and sass that make
an artist to watch.
"Times Are Tough in Rock 'N Roll"
is a sly putdown of the mainstream music industry and a celebration of
roots driven by a
track that includes banjo, jew's harp (something you don't hear on many records these days, if ever) and fiddle. When she sings "All my feelings/All my fears/Were confirmed with Britney Spears" you've got to laugh out loud.
's been called a cross between
Loretta Lynn
and
Dolly Parton
, and a tune like
"Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman"
tells you that the comparisons aren't mere hyperbole. It's a
honky tonk
stomp that delineates the problems facing the fairer sex with good humor and sharp observations of the strength it takes to deal with the male ego.
"What Do I Do"
is
Western swing
in the style of
Merle Haggard
, a weeper that finds the singer torn between giving her heart away and walking away from a bad situation. Some nice
Roy Nichols
-style electric guitar fills add authenticity to the track.
's just as commanding on the album's
ballads
.
"Down Girl"
is as dark as anything
Gillian Welch
has written,
"Rest Your Weary Mind,"
a duet with
Bobby Bare, Jr.
, sounds like a hundred-year-old
folk
lament, while
"Mama's Prayers"
is a ringer for
Parton
's homespun Tennessee tales of tribulation. The most surprising track is
"Sunday Morning,"
the Velvet Underground
oldie transformed into a mournful ballad given extra melancholy by
Matt Combs
' fiddle work.
is a great album made by people who obviously love the grit and honesty of real music. ~ j. poet