Juice Newton - Every Road Leads Back to You
Combine some blasts from the past with a few brand-new songs, mix in an audience of friends and fans assembled for a special showcase gig, and you've got a recipe for a strong performance by singer Juice Newton and her band. Recorded in Los Angeles in 2001, the 16-song, roughly 75-minute show features Newton's brand of guitar-driven, crossover country music; not the world's most distinctive sound, perhaps, what with its oft-repeated themes of the heartbreak and sweet glories of love, but Newton is in fine voice, and the band is tight and rockin'. Some welcome variety comes at the end, when, after performing her two biggest pop hits ("Angel of the Morning" and "Queen of Hearts"), Newton brings out a horn section for a swinging "After Midnight" before closing with an a cappella "It's Late."--Sam Graham