Somewhere Between
This 1989 debut finds Bogguss assuming a neotraditional cowgirl persona, not all that comfortably. Ballad extravaganzas ("Guilty as They Come" and the title track) and western ditties ("Night Rider's Lament," an unnecessary remake of Patsy Montana's "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart") just cowpoke along unimpressively, but more contemporary-sounding numbers such as "Cross My Broken Heart" and Bogguss's own "Take It Like a Man" are superior showcases for her clear, folk-country voice and signposts to her much more successful and satisfying future direction. Exceptions to the not-so-hot neotrad rule: her nailing of Hank Williams Sr.'s "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" and her own saga of the modern West, "I'm at Home on the Range," which scores points for rhyming "Laramie" and "take good care o' me."--Ken Barnes