Over the course of Van Morrison's long career, he has done many things, but this is the first time he has attempted a straight-up country album. Let us hope it is not the last, for this album is Morrison's best in many years. Consisting mainly of covers of country songs from the sixties and before, along with three self-penned originals, Morrison employs Nashville veterans that steep the album in steel guitars, fiddles, strings, and gospel choirs that conjure up memories of recordings from that time. No one can deny the beauty of the music here, but the surprise is how well Morrison's voice fits the material, endowing even the most familiar songs (e,g., "Your Cheatin' Heart") with new meanings. On the surface, Morrison's aptitude for this material may seem surprising, as country songs are usually thought of as being very direct emotionally, with "heart-on-the-sleeve" delivery being the norm. This has rarely been Morrison's forte, as his voice (and lyrics) have usually conveyed a sense of uncertainty or ambiguity about what forces are compelling him to feel the way he does. This has often been found in his best work in the mystical allusions to events and emotional entanglements that have engulfed him. He FEELS, but he is uncertain as to why or exactly what has led him to where he is (or where he's going). While this may not seem typical (or even appropriate) for country music, Morrison makes it so by bringing out the uncertainty and doubt that he finds within the lyrics of these songs. Equally impressive, Morrison's originals fit so well into the country tradition that the listener is hard-pressed to distinguish them from the covers. While not every "whoop" or vocal mannerism works (his version of "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" is rather inscrutable), these are minor quibbles with a great album. As Van himself says in an aside after one of the songs has ended, "That was worth it." He couldn't be more right.

While also an album steeped in country traditions, Neko Case's fourth effort takes a very different tack than employed by Morrison. Case is interested in employing aspects of country music that hark back to its earliest times. Waltz tempos, heavy reverb, melodies that feel like hymns, and, especially, (semi)-biblical imagery that conjures up notions of dread, doom, and destruction (e.g., "that night I fell into the lions jaws, to my regret, and to your delight") are her main tools in creating a world where the singer is surrounded by death and madness. Yet her powerful, crystal-clear voice (Patsy Cline is the closest comparison point) provides the succor that shows the singer is not yet overwhelmed by these forces, but battling through them. Helped out by her alt-country pals from Calexico and Giant Sand, as well as by some ethereal piano and organ from the Band's Garth Hudson, the music has definite rock underpinnings that accompany the countrified delivery. While not containing a career-defining song like her last album (Blacklisted's "Deep Red Bells"), this is a fine effort by one of the most talented artists in the alt-country scene today.