Keeping bluegrass alive

Reviewed February 2008

Her new album continues her string of outstanding recordings, and takes in a nice, broad swath of country history, from honky tonk to the Patsy Cline school of trad pop country to, of course, bluegrass.

And as if to underscore her growing stature as one of bluegrass' top stars, there's a vocal duet with country superstar Keith Urban on traditional chestnut "The Water Is Wide." But as big a draw as Urban is, that song is far from the album's highlight – the uptempo bluegrass breakdowns like the closing track 'Bluegrass Saturday Night" or the opener, "I'm Leavin' " are what give this superb album its sense of spirit and joy.

Review by Jim Trageser. Jim is a writer and editor living in Escondido, Calif., and was a contributor to the "Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD" (1993) and "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues" (2005).