Texan singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith has, alongside kindred souls such as
Emmylou Harris and
Lucinda Williams, ushered folk music into a new era with her thoughtful songs and sweet, often studied delivery. After revisiting the work of her favorite songwriters (on 1998's
Other Voices, Too) and some of her own best-loved material (with '97's
Blue Roses from the Moons and '99's
The Dust Bowl Symphony), the Grammy-winning performer returns with a set fueled by her own new songs -- her first such effort since 1994's
Flyer. The results reflect the passion Griffith poured into these tunes. The album's first single might be the soulful pop tune "Where Would I Be" (by British pop songsmith
Paul Carrack), but the disc's heart lies in two Griffith originals: the title track, which poignantly expresses a state of emotional numbness, and the moving "Traveling Through This Part of You," inspired by her ex-husband's tour in Vietnam. Another similarly themed highlight is the rousing, rock-inspired "Pearl's Eye View (The Life of Dickey Chapelle)," which tells the story of Chapelle, a daring female photojournalist who exposed atrocities in Vietnam before falling victim to a land mine. Elsewhere, Griffith gets personal on "Last Song for Mother," a spare reflection on maternal love, and a romantic, string-enhanced cover of the
Frank Sinatra hit "In the Wee Small Hours," one of her mom's favorites. Throughout, her band keeps the pace with lush (only occasionally glossy) arrangements that match Griffith's flower-petal-soft voice to a T.
