Humming by the Flowered Vine
Laura Cantrell has exceptional taste. One listen to her celebrated radio show "Radio Thrift Shop"on  WFMU  and you will know this instantly, as she mixes old school country and bluegrass with the best contemporary singer-songwriters. The cover art to this, her third album, is by the superlative artist Fred Tomaselli, and her choice of arcane, literate, and lovely cover songs is exquisite: a previously unreleasedLucinda Williamssong ("Letters"), an obscure Appalachian murder ballad originally collected by her great-great aunt ("Poor Ellen Smith"), and a fabulous tune by singer-songwriter Emily Spray ("14th Street"). Of course, if good taste were all it took to be a great artist, we'd all be great artsists, right? Laura's not a crooner per se, but she has become an amazing singer, with delightful control over her voice. In fact, Cantrell sounds a lot like the long-lost, Tennessee-born sister toLinda Thompson, especially on theDave Schramm-penned "And Still," and her own "Old Downtown." This is cosmic, American music, sung with subtlety and produced perfectly by JD Foster.–Mike McGonigal.