Kathy Mattea
Album: Calling Me Home
Label: Sugar Hill
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.kathymattea.com

Kathy Mattea, without a doubt is getting braver as she gets older. Her last few albums have led her down more of a folk path, culminating in her last CD, Coal, an exploration of a subject close to her heart. She has chosen, with Calling Me Home, to explore the heritage of her beloved West Virginia even further.

Through emotion filled songs such as A Far Cry, West Virginia Mining Disaster, Hello My Name Is Coal, the title track, Calling Me Home, Now Is The Cool of the Day, The Wood Thrush's Song and The Maple's Lament, Mattea exquisitely weaves together the story of those Appalachian Mountains, in all their glory and tragedy. Never is this more evident than in Jean Ritchie's Black Waters; a heartbreaking reflection upon the environmental cost of coal mining and Alice Gerrard's creation, titled Agate Hill, about saying goodbye to a friend who has died.

As is Kathy's gift, she takes you on a musical journey from start to finish, leaving you feeling you have visited the places of which she sings, by the times the CD reaches its conclusion.

In true Mattea style, she has raised her own bar yet again and the result, Calling Me Home, belongs in every music lover's collection.

Helen Mitchell