World in a Drop of Water
One of the thrilling dimensions of folk music in the '90s is the imaginative freedom its core figure, the singer with his guitar, has found. Michael Fracasso takes the lessons of his influences--the lyrical density of Dylan and the vocal flights of Buddy Holly and Lefty Frizzell--and shapes them with ambitious, Beatlesque arrangements. Much of the success of Fracasso's third recording owes to producer Charlie Sexton, who layers these songs of bittersweet optimism with so many guitars they attain the character of small symphonies, the musical equivalent of Fracasso's lyrics, the discovery of whole worlds in the smallest moments. But even the most electric creativity would sound hollow without melodies to carry them, stories to tell, and a voice to convince you. Fracasso has all three.--Roy Kasten