Eddi Reader
Stateside listeners have scant knowledge of Scottish singer and  songwriter Eddi Reader past her fleeting blip of recognition as the deliriously  lovely voice of Fairground Attraction, which sneaked momentarily onto pop radar  in the late '80s.  That's more than a pity: Reader's vibrant mezzo soprano and  finely detailed songs are emotionally engaging, ear-filling wonders, marked by a  wonderful balance of vocal power and unalloyed feeling, and this, her failed bid  at an American career, is proof positive. Its lovely mix of acoustic folk  accents and pop bloom is the result of an unlikely gestation in Ojai,  California, which says nothing about the music--what tells the tale are Reader's  smart, tender songs, which capture romantic enchantment ("The Right  Place") and disillusionment (the heartbreaking "Dear John")  against bejewelled settings that place this squarely within the canon of the  best British folk-pop. Think of Nick Drake's younger, saner sister, and you're  on the right path.--Sam Sutherland