Soul Journey

However, something in the CD design reassured me that Welch had not suddenly done a Shania Twain on me. The CD design looked like that of a wonderful band that you discover playing in a marquee at a small rainy folk festival and feel cheated that they were not more famous. The simplistic, childlike drawings and (hate to say it) 'gritty' black and white photos certainly carry a homemade quality. And she still wasn't wearing makeup. My thoughts were confirmed by the beautiful sounds within: This was no LA album.

There have been some changes that bring a new feeling to the consistently intelligent songwriting: Welch appears to explore more recent, richer textures, giving the album a slightly more upbeat feeling. A handful of other musicians feature on approximately every other track for a fuller sound, for example 'Wayside/Back in Time'. The final track 'Wrecking Ball', also the name of an Emmylou Harris record, even features electric guitar and a great deal of other instrumental layers. When drums are used, they are always laid-back and unrefined, and somehow, whether I am right or not, remind me of Neil Young or Welch's and Rawlings' musician fellow Ryan Adams, minus rock n roll. The first track 'Miss Ohio' sees Welch use a relaxed vocal style with a simple chord structure that is not dissimilar to a number of Dylan songs.

However, the songs that carry more of the established Welch trademark are just as compelling. 'One Little Song' refers to the idea that ultimately Welch is emulating her predecessors in her style: 'There's gotta be something left to sing/ cos everybody cant've thought of everything'. The short and sweet traditional 'Make me a Pallet on your Floor' is a quiet voice-and-guitar track that Welch could pass off as her own within the chord structure and sorrowful lines such as 'no-one ever had the blues like me'. The other trad song on the album 'I had a Real Good Mother and Father talks of the family's southern 'inbred glory' and strong religious values. Throughout, Rawlings' production keeps the music's natural edge with minimal electronic intervention. The production really jumped out at me with the harmonica on 'I Made a Lovers Prayer' as it is incredibly piercing against the mellow guitar backdrop and impossible to ignore.

The result is rich, well constructed and a little more upbeat than earlier material and Welch seems to have branched out without losing her timeless appeal. Overall, I must say that, being a melancholy gal, I can't help but miss the songs about toddlers being doomed or about murdering rapists or poverty in a variety of minor keys (I have an obsession with minor keys). However, that little obstacle is not enough to make this album less than five stars.

The sound has opened up somewhat in comparison with the previous releases, with the addition of a few more musicians apart from her long-time collaborator David Rawlings. But what has not changed is the sense of something timeless and deeply affecting in the music, plus of course the superb voice. I really cannot recommend this highly enough.