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 | Where so many duet projects seem like shotgun marriages, this one sounds like a labor of love, celebrating Southern music as a common denominator that transcends racial and categorical divides. Among the highlights, the pairing of Lyle Lovett and Al Green finds revelation within the funky groove of "Funny How Time Slips Away," while the album-closing "Patches"--with George Jones playing father to B.B. King's son--achieves a spine-tingling majesty. Though Natalie Cole and Reba McEntire misconnect on "Since I Fell for You," Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) and the late Conway Twitty are at their soulful best on "Rainy Night in Georgia." --Don McLeese (less)Mca | $5  amazon.com |
|  | Something of a latecomer to MCA's late-'80s/early-'90s stable of left-field country artists spearheaded by Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith, Virginian Kelly Willis ultimately floundered there despite cutting three critically hailed releases for the company. Bang Bang , the middle title in the MCA trilogy, is an ever-appealing 10-song outing that makes Willis's lack of commercial success all the more mystifying. Posited midway between the Nashville outskirts territory of Lovett, Steve Earle, and the other '80s insurgents and the mid-'90s y'alternative school (Willis mixes easily with both camps), Bang Bang shows off the singer's powerful pipes and nose for excellent songs: tunes by Earle, Australian folk-rocker Paul Kelly, Jim Lauderdale, and Joe Ely are among the standout selections here. Bang Bang reflected where one vital stream of country music headed in the '90s; too bad more fans didn't catch the boat. --Steven Stolder (less)Mca | $4  amazon.com |
|  | Few country artists of the 1990s have been able to meld a pronounced pop sensibility with the core elements of classic country as effectively as Miami's Mavericks. Their 1992 major-label debut displays a band mature well beyond its years, one not afraid of either tantalizing melodies or country music history. Here the Mavericks reprise four tunes from their eponymous indie debut and toss in four new Raul Malo originals along with covers of Hank Williams (a lackluster "Hey Good Lookin'") and Buck Owens (a much more engaging "Excuse Me"). Their deft mix of old-school honky-tonk, Orbisonesque sob stories, and punchy modern country-rock serves notice of a band with enormous commercial and artistic potential. --Marc Greilsamer (less)Mca | $4  amazon.com |
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