Neko Case’s voice is almost too perfect; the clarity is a bit unreal. With this recording she gives it the full reverb treatment resulting in a gratuitous velvety smoothness. But the songwriting is first-rate and sometimes the whole package delivers a shiver down your spine.

...but I can’t say I give it 5/5! Nuances, people, nuances.

This is more than “Loretta Lynn-covers” as The Rolling Stone Magazine deemed, giving it 2/5 (if I remember correctly). Mind you, this is the same magazine that kicked Jim Derogatis, one of their writers, for not giving Hootie & The Blowfish 3/5 (he gave them 2/5).

Neko Case sings from the heart, and what an angelic voice she has. I bought tickets for the concert a few days after I heard the album the first time, and I’m not regretting it, but looking forward to it more and more. This is very good.

I’ve never been one for country, yet this is more accessible than Johnny Cash and Lucinda Williams (whose “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” will always be hailed by me) and will haunt me forever – I hope. All kudos to Neko Case and her cohorts on this album!