music itself is all over the map, from traditional bluegrass items like "Sally Goodin" and "Katy Hill" to Western Swing, Celtic music, Cajun and new-acoustic numbers, but the connecting thread is Lamb's assertive fiddle lines, full of feeling and melody. She's not much of a singer, but she only takes one lead vocal and two harmonies behind O'Brien; she wisely lets her violin do the singing on the remaining 10 instrumentals. --Geoffrey Himes  (less)

rowdy, sing-along string-band version of the Neal McCoy hit, "Small Up and Simple Down"), and pretty ballads (an evocative story about a girl escaping a small town to find the "Edge of the Storm"). Best of all is the catchy Cajun tune about a romantic memory that irritates like a "Rock in My Shoe." All in all, Tim O'Brien straddles the boundary between bluegrass and country better than anyone since the days before Ricky Skaggs got too preachy. --Geoffrey Himes  (less)