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WEST COAST PERFORMER MAGAZINE - September 2003
Lisa O'Kane
If it's been awhile since you've found any rootsy, emotional music that you actually love enough to purchase, Lisa O'Kane is arriving to fix all that. "Am I Too Blue" is a treasure that you'll play again and again, especially if you have any sadness or heartbreak in your life. When you can't cry anymore, Lisa does it for you, with her bittersweet voice, in a way that tells you that a few tears will wash the wound cleanÉsomeday. A stunning debut, Lisa has gathered the perfect team of all-pro players and producer to deliver this indie set in a way that surpasses every major label female-fronted package you'll hear this year. The players are cohorts of Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, and Merle Haggard. Edward Tree's production creates a clean, classy space in which it feels like we're eavesdropping on a grown woman's intimate feelings. Not that the mood is all blue. The collection includes a balance of mid-tempo numbers that keep the energy cooking and a seamless, unspoiled way. Perfect. There are no weak moments, no missteps, no tracks to skip over, in any tempo. The song selection is delicate blend of a few originals by Lisa with some re-tailored classics from Lucinda Williams, John Prine and even Hank Williams. If you bought and savored the early Linda Ronstadt records, you will like Lisa O'Kane. A California mother of two, Lisa had retired from club singing until a few years ago when a heartfelt compliment from a musician broke her into tears and re-acceptance of her buried dreams. Her clear, cool voice has risen to the top of the European country charts twice already, with "Little Black Cloud" and "Wall of Tears," creating a following that keeps calling Lisa across the waters. "Am I Too Blue" is a rare record. More than to be admired (though that's okay), this I one to be savored.
- Rex Poindexter

SUR LA ROUTE DE MEMPHIS - FRANCE - September 2002
Pour son premier album, Lisa la joue securite en s'assurant les services de quelques musiciens confirmes: Taras Produniuk (Bassiste de Dwight Yoakam et Lucinda Williams), skip Edward (organiste de Dwight Yoakam), Scott Joss (violoniste de Merle Haggard), Ed Tree (Guitariste des Bum Steers quiassure aussi la production). si elle flirte une ou deux fois) "Lovin You Again" et "Wall of Tears") avec la country variete, elle assure une ambiance pitot folk blue grass avec violon et mandoline en evidence. Tout cela ne marche pas trop mal et meme bien sur "Romance and Finance" qui mele violon, accordeon et rythme a la Bo Diddley. "Little Black Cloud", "Am I Too Blue" de Lucinda Williams et "The Valley" sont eux, de bien belles balades misses en valeur par sa voix de soprano. Elle reprend de maniere tres personnelle "My Sweet Love Ain't around" d'Hank Williams alors qui "Pineola", chanson de Lucinda Williams sur le suicide evoque quelque peu "Ode to Billy Joe" en plus bluesy et rapeux.
- Bernard Boyat

Roots Revival - Belgium - July 2002
Lisa is a great country singer who grew up in California's Yosemite Valley, a place I was lucky enough to visit a couple of times. She picks the songs out of that great bag of bluegrass, folk, traditional country and modern singer-songwriters and brings songs of John Prine, Hank Williams, Lucinda Williams and K.T. Oslin amongst others. She got some help of great L.A. musicians like Taras Prodaniuk, Skip Edwards, Scott Joss, Tom Corbett and Billy Watts. The whole cd is a chain of highlights and it's hard to believe that no major label has noticed this great talent.
- Theo Geenen

Maverick Magazine - England - Issue Number One - July 2002
LISA O'KANE - AM I TOO BLUE
This is one of those rare works of art that emerges from nowhere to delight, entertain and inspire, as well as give a soul-deep reminder of the unrivalled power of songs to speak to the deepest core of our being. You'll forget all those tiring arguments that country is dead with one spin of this classic-sounding album. Newcomer Lisa O'Kane has the kind of star-making vocals that can go from carefree playfulness (Romance and Finance) to bittersweet world-weariness (Sandy Denny's exquisite Like An Old Fashioned Waltz) to a commanding resonance (Wanting, Wanting You).

The production is crisp and punchy. The record's best feature, though, is O'Kane's voice. There's a clarity and freshness to her vocals that's very appealing and makes her stand out from the pack. An added bonus is that she proves to more than an able tunesmith, with a couple of self-penned tunes bookending the eclectic choice of Lucinda Williams, John Prine and K.T. Oslin songs. She closes this stunning collection with The Valley, which was inspired by Yosemite, the rural valley where she grew up. The topic gets a tender, cinematic treatment, and Lisa's sensitive rendering of the lyric gives the song additional emotional impact. Spin after spin, AM I TOO BLUE gains greater appeal with its generous outpouring of textural layers that seamlessly encompass bluegrass, folk and traditional country with accomplished performances all the way around. AC
- Alan Cackett, Editor

Super Country - Brazil - July 2002
Lisa O'Kane aparece no cenario musical de Nashville com o lancamento de seu album de estreia "Am I Too Blue" e sua primeira musica de trabalho "Little Black Cloud" ja esta nas primeiras posicoes de paradas de sucessos da Europa.

Lisa, muito diferente do que esta sendo produzido em Nashville, foi em busca de um som mais tradicional em seu mais novo CD. Tudo se deve a sua infancia onde ela cresceu na pequena cidade de Fish Camp na California.

Ela foi envolvida por musicas de Hank Williams e Bill Monroe. Aos Sabados frequentava grupos de musica e la foi tomando seu conhecimento musical pelo estilo "raiz".

"Am I Too Blue" possui 12 musicas voltadas para as baladas musicais, um moderno "bluegrass" e tambem "country-rock". "Eu sempre pensei em gravar cancoes que eu me identificava" reconhece a artista. sua musica de trabalho "Little Black Cloud" foi muita aclamada pela critica de Nashville e internacional.

Agora e so esperar para ver ate onde o talento de Lisa O'Kane pode alcancar!

Para saber mais de Lisa O'Kane acesse www.lisaokane.com
- Rodrigo Haddad

Metro Country - U.K. - July, 2002
Lisa O'Kane grew up in California's Yosemite Valley in the town of Fish Camp (population 36), where she and her two siblings were the only kids around. Lisa loved singing and listening to old Hank Williams and Bill Monroe songs on her mom's radio as much as she enjoyed clambering over rocks and streams. Saturday nights, she would go square dancing to a traditional jug band with a washboard and standup string bass. It was a life of simple joys and hard realities.

After singing and playing classical violin throughout childhood and supporting herself after college as a singer in a country band, she essentially gave up music for a while to have her two little girls. Then four years ago, she spontaneously sat in with a band at a local pub on her birthday. After she sang Aretha Franklin's classic "Chain of Fools" and Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Living Long Like This", the bassist told her she was too good not to be performing. "That hit something in my soul and that's when the whole thing started. I knew I had to do it," she says.

When first putting this CD in the player, my instant reaction was, WOW what a voice!!! Distinctive, fresh and the most wonderful new voice to come along in a long while. And not only does she possess a wonderful voice, but she uses it to perfection as she effortlessly, pours out tons of feeling and emotion on the heartfelt ballads contained on here.

On the album's opener, the funky co-write with Ken O'Malley, "Romance and Finance", Lisa reminds me a little of Gail Davies, before moving into the wonderful "Little Black Cloud", a song written by Mark Fosson that as I write is, very deservedly, sitting at the top of the EMS European charts.

The title track, the slow "Am I Too Blue", is a Lucinda Williams penned song that has never sounded better and is guaranteed to bring out the goosebumps. Absolute magic!!!! As is her version of John Prine's "All The Way With You" a great song, sung to perfection! Lisa also digs into the Hank Williams catalogue for a fine rendition of "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" and I just love her take on K T Oslin's "Wall of Tears".

"Lovin' You Again" tells of going back to an old lover time and time again and finds Lisa sounding not unlike Joan Baez in places, as does Sandy's Denny's equally slow "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz". For Gospel lovers there's Bill Monroe's "Old Cross Road Is Waiting" before the album closes with the self-penned, "The Valley", a song that sees her recalling memories of her childhood home.

With top class L.A. musician's that consist of bassist Taras Prodaniuk (from Lucinda Williams' band), organist Skip Edwards (Dwight Yoakam), fiddler Scott Joss (Merle Haggard), electric guitarist Billy Watts (John Trudell), drummer Dave Raven (Surfaris), mandolinst Tom Corbett (John McEuen), and backup singers Teresa James and Kellie Coffey, the album is a pure delight to listen to with Lisa sounding equally at home on the ballads as she is on the more uptempo material.

Lisa O'Kane is major label quality singing REAL country music on an Indie label and "Am I Too Blue" is simply, one of the best albums to land on my desk, so far this year. Check her out - you won't be disappointed!
- Ray Grundy

Country Music News - Canada - July, 2002
Wow...chalk up Lisa O'Kane as a voice that 'must' be heard by the masses. The California mountain-born O'Kane is as rootsy as you get - a nice mix of very early career Suzy Bogguss and Canadian traditionalist Cindy Church. Am I Too Blue is Lisa O'Kane's debut disc...and hopefully it reaches people who like to listen to hear "goood" music!!
Produced in California studios by Edward Tree, and utilizing West Coast musicians (several out of the Dwight Yoakam camp); the music is devoid of any of the current Nashville trappings... in effect, this is "loose" in all the right places; and you can sense that the singer (O'Kane) is like a free bird, simply enjoying her ability to sing, without trying to sound like the frustrated opera divas that 'country' music is churning out these days.
The song selection is a nice mix of cover songs (old and new) and some original material. The album opens and closes with a Lisa O'Kane composition from opposite ends of the 'sentiment' scale. The show opener, Romance and Finance, is a bumpy, percussion-driven tale; while the closer, The Valley, is a soft lullaby inspired by O'Kanes California mountain roots. Both tunes work.
The 'cover' songs are nothing short of sizzling...ranging from a raunchy re-do of K.T. Olsin's Wall of Tears, to John Prine's All The Way With You(from his 1993 Lucky Dogs album; two Emmylou Harris album cuts (Like An Old-Fashioned Waltz and Lovin' You Again); and two Lucinda Williams tunes (Pineola and the title track, Am I Too Blue).
Listen also for a truly magnificent version of the Hank Williams classic My Sweet Love Ain't Around (ironically, it's a classic that was also included on Suzy Bogguss' 1989 debut album)...and, as good as all this is, there's still a topper in Wanting, Wanting You (a song written by recently deceased bluegrass artist Randall Hylton). Lisa O'Kanes' smoky-blues delivery of the song rates among the vocal highlight of the year (so far), and the 20-second bass intro in the song's arrangement is testimony to how different this record is. It's the record that many in Nashville wish they were allowed to make!!

North Country Music Magazine - England - July, 2002
New name Lisa O'Kane has a voice that hits you right in the midriff. When I first listened to the album, I thought her voice was slightly familiar. It was when she hit a certain range the name Kathy Chiavola came screaming at me.

Lisa grew up in California's magestic Yosemite Valley in the small town of Fish Camp (population of 36). On Saturday night O'Kane went square dancing to a traditional jug band with washboard and stand-up bass. Singing and playing classical violin throughout her childhood and later supported herself as a singer in a band. Bringing up two daughters, Lisa gave up singing, until about four years ago when she spontaneously sat in with the band at a local pub on her birthday. The bassist told her her that she was too good not to be performing. Lisa says, "That hit something in my soul and that's when the whole thing started."

Am I Too Blue was produced by California-based legend Edward Tree, who brought in much in demand musicians such as bassist Taras Prodaniuk(Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams), organist Skip Edwards(Dwight Yoakam), fiddler Scott Joss(Merle Haggard) and top-drawer backup singers Teresa James and Kellie Coffey.

Am I Too Blue offers a collection of inspiring songs, with the title cut written by Lucinda Williams, projecting the breathtaking searing vocal range that Lisa O'Kane has to offer. The first single off the album has been released by way of the June Country Hot Disc and topped the EMS chart at #1 the first week in July. This delightful song looks at how life can be a struggle, but there is alway a ray of hope behind every 'Little Black Cloud'. Lisa says of the song, "Mark Fosson and Ed Tree were lost in Nashville looking for some rehearsal studio. Mark said 'Hey, look at that big black cloud' and Ed started singing something about a little black cloud. They pulled over, wrote the song, found the studio and a few years later I got to record it. I hope they get lost more often!"

Lisa O'Kane has a hand in writing two of the songs on the album, the opening track 'Romance and Finance' with its Bo Diddley intro and 'The Valley' which was inspired by Lisa's homeland just outside Yosemite National Park. O'Kane also takes her inspiration from such magnificent songwriters as Hank Williams with 'My Sweet Love Ain't Around', K.T. Oslin's up-tempo 'Wall Of Tears' and John Prine/Gary Nocholson's emotive 'All The Way With You'. O'Kane's heartbreaking vocals on Richard Ferris's 'Lovin' You Again' affectionately touches your soul with the tormenting story of a couple falling in and out of love. Lisa also comes up trumps with Bill Monroe's bluegrass standard 'Old Cross Road Is Waitin'.

This girl from Yosemite is destined to go far. The sweet sound of Lisa O'Kane's awe-inspiring vocals are as fresh as the cool morning air of her own hometown, justly accompanied with quality musicians and 1st class arrangements. Take a deep breath of that same mountain air yourself and wallow in this tip-top album.
- Graham Lees

Country Music Round Up Magazine - U.K.
Lisa O'Kane is not just a country singer - she is country! She could be nothing else growing up in California's Yosemite Valley in a town of just thirty-six and where she and her two siblings were the only kids around. A real tomboy, Lisa listened to her radio favourites Hank Williams and Bill Monroe, played rough and tumble and on Saturday nights went square dancing to a band that included string bass and washboard. Throughout her childhood, Lisa sang and played classical violin and after college earned a few dollars singing in a country band. Before her career could take off, Lisa became a mother and she quit her beloved music to raise her two children. Four years ago, after singing in a pub, she was encouraged to resume her career. Lisa's recording debut, "Am I Too Blue" (Raisin'Kane), reveals that, though Lisa is now a big city girl, she has lost none of her country roots. Her emotionally charged voice performs the hell out of a dozen great songs from the pens of some of country's greatest writers. To merely sample the songs on this remarkable album is nigh imposssible for each and every one is a winner. But being pressed for space, I will go for "My Sweet Love Ain't Around", an incredible reading of the Hank Williams blues, the joyous "Wall of Tears" (K.T. Oslin), the bluegrass Gospel "Old Cross Road Is Waitin" (Bill Monroe). But it is on the ballads that Lisa really shows her power, on Mark Fosson's "Little Black Cloud", Lucinda Williams' "Am I Too Blue" and John Prine's "All The Way With You". Lisa O'Kane? Smithy's in love again.
- Pete Smith

Pathfinder Magazine - England - July, 2002
O'Kane. The name is very familiar to a lot of us country fans from the top class duo, The O'Kanes, which as you know consisted of Kieran Kane & Jamie O'Hara. Well, when I say this lady does the name proud, I mean it. Lisa comes from a town called Fish Camp near Yosemite Valley, California, which has a population of only 36 and was brought up listening to Bill Monroe and Hank Williams, and hearing a traditional "Jug Band" with a washboard and standup string bass. Living in a city now, she goes back to the valley every summer. She starts off with a rousing number "Romance and Finance" which she helped put together. Then, into the number that for me stands out on this album "Little Black Cloud" and from what they tell me, it was written while the writers Mark Fosson & Edward Tree were lost in Nashville. Great stuff. The title track "Am I Too Blue" lets you hear the feeling in the lady's voice. Track four is Hank Williams' "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" and is again from the top draw and well performed. "Pineola" lets her show how a sad song is sung. Number six "Lovin You Again" is another number which shows the quality in the voice. K.T. Oslin's "Wall of Tears" picks the tempo up somewhat before going into the superb John Prine number "All The Way With You". That man can certainly write, and this lady performs it to perfection. "Wanting, Wanting You" keeps up the standard, as does "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz". That veteran Bill Monroe's "Old Cross Road Is Waitin" comes next showing what she can do, with that good old country sound, and believe me Lisa puts it over very well. The CD finishes with "The Valley" a number Lisa co-wrote with Edward Tree - a number with lots of feeling. An outstanding CD that Lisa should be proud of. The chosen musicians on all the tracks are some of the best on the scene, and the backing vocalists do a first-class job. Produced by Edward Tree to a very high standard that's for sure, and it's an album I am pleased to have in my collection.
- John Brookfield

Svenska Dagbladet - Sweden - July 2002
I thought that I had already heard the best country album (Flatlanders) this spring, but when Lisa O'Kane from Fish Camp in Yosemite Valley, California, (population 36) released her debut "Am I Too Blue", I had to think again. It is exquisite: traditional country, packed with great musical accomplishments from the musicians which creates an expansive sound picture, where the young Lisa's intense, crystal clear and melodious voice just kind of slides right in. Lisa O'Kane chooses her songs with an artistic sense and integrity. Some of the songs on Lisa's album include: Hank Williams' "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" with a blues fiddle and a wonderful guitar solo, K.T. Oslin's "Wall of Tears" with an electrified bluegrass touch, Sandy Denny's "Like and Old Fashioned Waltz" with a tender sadness worthy of Frances Black, Lucinda Williams' songs "Pineola" (greased by Edward Trees fat slide guitar) and "Am I Too Blue" which Lisa does even better than Lucinda herself. The original material holds the same class. Get to your nearest Impro store or net dealers.
- Magnus Eriksson

Country Music and More - UK - June 2002
Lisa O'Kane is one of those rare natural born singers. The more I listen only confirms my belief that here is a singer with immense potential. If she were a new manufacturer on the stock market, I would certainly be investing in shares. Three-quarters of an hour was not enough to satiate my appetite!
- Ian McQueen

England -The Advertiser - Album of the Week - June 21, 2002
Though I am quite open-minded about my country, I still long for the days, the 60s, when country was country, no arguments. Occasionally I get an album by a contemporary artist who recreates this period and one such artist is Lisa O'Kane, a young beauty from California. "Am I Too Blue" (Raisin'Kane), though recorded last year, is straight for the sixties in sound and feel. Ed Tree has done a cracking job producing these songs, largely from the pens of modern writers, Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Ken O'Malley, Mark Fosson, etc and Lisa does a magnificent job in the vocals department. Hank Williams' "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" is magnificent but no more powerful than Bill Monroe's "Old Cross Road Is Waitin'", Randall Hylton's "Wanting, Wanting You" and Sandy Denny's "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz". Who says real country is dead? Certainly not Lisa O'Kane!
- Pete Smith

Review - www.countryreview.com - June 2002
Be honest. Often, listening to country music by independent artists is a little like hobbling with a stone in your shoe. It can be painful, awkward, and, at times, unbearable. Thank goodness for fresh, vibrant talents like Los Angeles-based Lisa O'Kane.

Am I Too Blue(Raisin'Kane) is a debut from a lady who may dwell on the musical fringe, but, be assured, this is no wannabe with a guitar.

Firstly, there's the voice. O'Kane is a persuasive mix of interpretive boundary-pushing wrapped in a determined confidence. It shows itself repeatedly over the range of this album.

Then, there is the song choice. O'Kane marries vocal passion to the penned-credentials of, amongst others, Lucinda Williams ("Am I Too Blue", "Pineola"),legendary Hank Williams ("My Sweet Love Ain't Around"), KT Oslin ("Wall of Tears"), former singing postman John Prin e("All The Way With You"), and the enduring Bill Monroe ("Old Cross Road Is Waitin").

This former resident of Fish Camp (a 36-strong population town in Yosemite Valley, California) isn't solely hero dependant, though; she contributes with one co-write and one self-penned offering.

The first, the hard-hitting "Romance & Finance", is a mandolin-enriched ode to the way of the world. The song, the album's opening track, is vibrant and with its edgy drum beat, compliments a showcase of ballads, bluegrass and rock-tinged movers.

"The Valley", O'Kane's evocative original is the last of the 12-tracks. It closes the show, beautifully, on a "take notice" album, which is already starting to claim industry ears and interest. "Valley" tells of O'Kanes' growing years and her eventual exit from home. Then, on her return to her small town home (an annual event), her renewal. Painted with pure and melodic images, the song shares much with the remembrance: "It wasn't heaven, but it was paradise."

The joyous vocals from this mother of two girls don't need further elaboration. Likewise, the fitting song choices don't require scrutiny - astute, listener-grabbing programmers are already wedging several into playlist rotations.

However, for the naturally inquisitive, the standout tracks for this reviewer are the haunting "Am I Too Blue", the boppy "Romance and Finance", the twang-driven "Wall of Tears", and the inspired-for-lovers "Wanting, Wanting You".

Beyond O'Kane's polished vocals, there is a supportive backbeat of musical royalty who bring connection and talent to their performances. Scott Joss, fiddle player to the stars and ten-year member of Dwight Yoakam's band (he's also a former California State Men's Fiddle Champion for three consecutive years), makes a welcomed showing, so, too, does Yoakam pianist, Skip Edwards.

Making a cameo appearance in the lineup is Teresa James: one of the hardest working and in-demand session singers on the American circuit. Former drummer with JJ Cales' band, James Cruce, shares the snare with David Raven, and Edward Tree, who along with O'Kane spent a year song-sifting for this album, holds the dual portfolio of guitarist and producer.

There are several other lumninaries in the lineup including guitarist Billy Watts, bassist Taras Prodaniuk from Lucinda Williams' band, and respected vocalist Kellie Coffey - all adding to a strong rhythmic presence.

This is a stellar debut. It's polished and professional on every level. And, because of it, Lisa O'Kane is walking, rather than limping. Comfortably.
- George Peden

Pasadena Weekly, April 2002
Lisa O'Kane, Am I Too Blue (Raisin' Kane): This singer's choice of songwriters - K.T. Oslin, John Prine, Hank Williams - speaks volumes about her taste for rootsy tunesmiths enamored of wry humor and saucy women. O'Kane's sweetly melodious, aching soprano suits the material and when it comes to the vanishing art of reflective ballad singing (especially Richard Ferris' "Lovin' You Again" and her co-write with producer Ed Tree, "The Valley"), she shines. It's a promising debut onto an L.A. scene lately void of strong female voices.
- Bliss

Country Music People - February 2002
SPOTLIGHT ALBUM: LISA O'KANE "Am I Too Blue"
Romance And Finance / Little Black Cloud / Am I Too Blue / My Sweet Love Ain't Around / Pineola / Lovin' You Again / Wall Of Tears / All The Way With You / Wanting, Wanting You / Like An Old Fashioned Waltz / Old Crossroad Is Waitin' / The Valley
Producer Edward Tree
Raisin' Kane RK4128       (45m 16s) [US]

This is one of those albums that comes right out of left field and offers much unexpected pleasure. No information is available on the artist, though many of those involved have track records.

Pianist Skip Edwards and fiddler Scott Joss are members of Dwight Yoakam's band, bassist Taras Prodanuik, currently with Lucinda Williams, has also played with Yoakam and is also part of that fine West Coast group, the Bum Steers, as are songwriter Mark Fosson, who contributes the delightful, wispy Little Black Cloud here, and guitarist Edward Tree whose production this album is.

Others with strong pedigrees include bassist David Jackson (another Yoakam alumnus) and drummer James Cruce (ex J.J. Cale), both now working with critically acclaimed singer Teresa James, who herself runs up on bv's at one point. Add in another support vocalist Kellie Coffey, who's currently in the top 50 in the country charts in her own right, and Am I Too Blue makes for a very potent mix.

As this is an indie release, there is no major label pressure on the material and song-wise it's quite an eclectic bunch. There are some in-house originals, a couple of Lucinda Williams songs, some obscure old non-Music Row outside things, a pop song gone country and classic old timely material.

The accompaniment is warm, intimate and folky, leaning on the acoustic side with mandolin and fiddles to the fore. O'Kane has lovely, clear and radiant vocals. In her middle range when she emotes she strongly echoes Kathy Chiavola - and if I were to say that she shows shades of the Chiavola greatness, I doubt if I could pay a singer a greater compliment

Amongst the original material is a great opener in Romance And Finance. Penned by O'Kane, mandolin player Ken O'Malley and Edward Tree, this is a real firecracker with the drums spelling out a solid Bo Diddley rhythm from the word go, while accordion and mandolin add their respective colour as the cut progresses. A breathless, high energy performance that stays just this side of frantic.

Of the two Lucinda Williams tracks, Am I Too Blue, which provides the album title, is spare and reflective with delicate guitar from Tree and dreamy strings courtesy of Edwards. The other, Pineola, is fairly grisly stuff, a grungy death song with Ode To Billy Joe styled observationals.

The rather anonymously titled Lovin' You Again conceals an amazingly detailed, and what seems a highly personal, song. Not just a song written because it's time to write another one a la 16th Avenue, but a piece written by Richard Ferris with unusual, intimate and private references that you just have to believe are from real life.

Over five concentrated stanzas plus a repeated bridge, the story such as it is unfolds with a desperate call from a phone booth from one lover to another - although the relationship is slightly ambiguous throughout - "it never gets no better and it couldn't get no worse" and again, "I'll spend an hour hatin' you 'til the cab pulls in" .

It arrives, she pays, there is a brief exchange between the taxi driver and the woman protagonist - he thinks he's made this run before, she doesn't think so, but ''... what's it matter anyway".

Once home, there are all kinds of matters for the pair to confront but I won't give too much more away. What the track lacks in big commercial hooks is more than made up for in atmosphere and tension, all beautifully underscored by sonorous cello lines. An unusual and absorbing item.

The two old chestnuts are respectively Hank's My Sweet Love Ain't Around with aching vocal glissandos, muttering fiddle, and finely picked guitar inputs over a cooking back beat in one of the best versions of this song that I can recall, and a chunkily rendered workout of Bill Monroe's Old Crossroad is Waitin'. There is sound advice imploring one to live the good life or face the diabolical consequences, with more good picking on show and O'Kane's controlled yodels.

Like An Old Fashioned Waltz is an early Fairport Convention track written by the tragic Sandy Denny that Emmylou discovered and cut on her White Shoes album. It's a pretty downbeat and sombre piece with only a piano and string accompaniment and probably the most pop the album gets.

Can't think of anything that doesn't work; even the uptempo take on the wonderful K.T Oslin's Wall Of Tears is fine. Am I Too Blue is an interesting and ultimately highly satisfactory piece of work. If you like country with an acoustic tinge, good but understated picking, non-hackneyed and carefully selected material and a terrific new voice, look no further than this.
- Jon Philibert ' Country Music People

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