After All
After two modestly successful singles in the late 1980s and a barely noticed 1990 album for Capitol, Joni Harms has consciously ignored nearly everything that's happened musically during the past decade, including the successes ofTwainandHill. OnAfter All, her first album since 1998'sCowgirl Dreams, Harm's taut, springy twang combined with honest, unadorned Western music makes for an irresistible package. She sings optimistically amid mariachi horns on "Ay, Yi, Yi, Yi" and swings deftly through "Every Cowgirl's Dream," "Weakness for Cowboys," "Cowboy Coffee," and "A Cowboy Wedding." On the title track she commandeers the shuffle, often used to propel morose laments, to frame an unabashed declaration of love and devotion. "Millie," her tribute to waitresses, possesses a reverence that rarely infuses most waitress tunes sung by men. While "I Want to Sing for You" overdoses on earnestness, that's a mere anomaly. Reveling in "the sound of twin fiddles" and "three-quarter time" in "West Texas Waltz" and the homeland virtues of "Sunday Go to Meeting Clothes," Harms reflects a contentment that transcends Music Row'sSurvivor-like competitions for fame and staying power.--Rich Kienzle