I reviewed Austin's six song EP a couple of years ago and was quite impressed at her maturity and vocal prowess.

In two years, her vocals have gotten better. Austin shows great control over her voice and she picked a great producer, Larry Beaird. He has helped to bring out the best in her, putting Austin's lush vocals right out front in the mix. 

There are also a great bunch of musicians with Kim Parent providing backup vocals and Larry Franklin with some great fiddle and mandolin. 

This gal belongs on a major label, she can flat out sing and just has a real musical voice and singing style. Beaird has a way of production that shows her at her best, his band is very tight and has a bit of a contemporary sound at times, but can still pull out an acoustic or more old time sound.

"Another Cruel Day" is brilliant, great lyrics in this upbeat tune, with great instrumentation.

" Life Is Good" is the perfect follow-up to the previous track with a positive focus. This is a contemporary country piece.

"Maybe Next Year" is a self-written song that has a more traditional sound. This reminds me of an Alan Jackson type song.

"Rain On A Tin Roof" is more acoustic, but has a haunting melody. These guitarists are great, they play country leads instead of rock. By the way, a great Dobro player inhabits this disc (Scotty Sanders), he, along with Beaird's mandolin, are awesome on this song. 

By the way, I just love the way you hear the shimmering acoustic rhythm guitars, a real full sound without going overboard. 

"I Wanna Be That Song" really is a masterpiece. A slow mid-tempo tune that really touches you deeper than your ears.

It has been quite a while since I heard a disc with twelve great songs. This is ready for radio, this ain't no demo. Really I do not usually get very excited about an indie disc, but this has no downside, it could compete with any artist on the top forty today.

If you are a fan of great music, real country stuff, check out Maggie Austin, she is the real deal. 

To order this CD, click the cover above.

Related Links:
Official Website  
MySpace  

To visit Jim Moulton's website click here. 

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