Strong Heart
Anyone with a voice and heart as soulful as Patty Loveless is incapable of making a bad record. Her low-down vocals on her own "You Don't Get No More" are bound to turn some so-called blues singers green with envy, and if you don't get a little misty behind her rendition ofMatraca Berg's "My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again," check your pulse. Berg's ballad is a prime example of how Nashville at its best continues to turn out excellent new twists on old themes. Unfortunately many of the tunes onStrong Heartsound more like old twists on old themes. In a town that boasts a slew of brilliant songwriters--BuddyandJulie Miller,Steve Earle, andRodney Crowellto name a few--it is hard to believe that these are the best tunes Loveless and producer Emory Gordy could find.Strong Heartis by no means a bad record, but after a three-year wait both Loveless and her fans deserve a better one.--Michael Ross