Beverley Mitchell
The image of Beverley Mitchell in a cowboy hat is going to take a little getting used to for WB viewers--as far-reaching a show as7th Heavenis, it doesn't venture much into honky-tonk territory. But that's no reason for a country girl to keep quiet, as Mitchell makes abundantly clear in this old-fashioned and sweet-sounding debut. If there's a theme here, it's '70s-style straightforwardness and simplicity: "You Didn't Kiss Me," a sad rumination on a missing goodnight kiss, is as artfully achy as anything Tanya Tucker ever recorded, and "Walkin'," an upbeat number about emotional backsliding, also smacks of a sincerer decade gone by. Credit for the songs' relate-ability goes partially to Mitchell, who co-wrote half of them. But aside from the songwriters' talent for winding homesickness, heartsickness, hopefulness, and humility into pretty songs, there's something to be said for this lovely album's production--it's as crisp and clear as the deep-running creek Mitchell sings of on the opening track "Heaven on Earth down Here."--Tammy La Gorce