Letters From Home
John Michael Montgomery has weathered a number of personal and professional storms since his1992 debut, but a label change in 2000 jumpstarted his career, and now the title track ofLetters from Homehas made him a contender again. While producer Byron Gallimore stocks the album with substantial songs ("Look at Me Now," "Cool") that contain a heart-tugging nugget of private truth, it's "Letters from Home" that will leave you bawling. Whether you're pro- or antiwar doesn't matter: its strength lies in the way it puts a personal face on a faraway army. There's more eloquence in this soldier's internal monologue than there is in the text of the letters, and Montgomery's vocal--as lean as a G.I.'s rations--drives home the authenticity of the moment, which unveils so many hidden hurts and disappointments and fears among his platoon. Like "Good Ground," the song that precedes it, "Letters" points up the importance, responsibility, and identity of belonging. Country music handles this theme better than any other genre, and Montgomery, now a family man himself, imbues his readings not just as a hit maker, but as a man who knows his own place in the parade of life. And just maybe, country music history.--Alanna Nash