Pam Tillis - Homeward Looking Angel (1992)

Pam Tillis had an enviable challenge with Homeward Looking Angel -- topping the critically acclaimed and commercially viable Put Yourself in My Place, an album that spawned four Top Ten singles including "Don't Tell Me What to Do." Tillis' pure, full-bodied country voice can be both a boon and a burden. Some tracks on Angel seem cliché. On one cut, the retro "Do You Know Where Your Man Is," her genuinely throaty twang feels exaggerated to the point of annoyance. Yet other songs work seemingly effortless magic, including the sultry and sexy "Shake the Sugar Tree," and the wry and telling "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial." These songs, along with Gretchen Peters' ballad "Let That Pony Run" and the title cut -- one of four written by Bob DiPiero -- had no trouble finding their way to the chart heights of their predecessors and insuring Tillis another hit recording. While it may not be as flawless as Put Yourself in My Place, Homeward Looking Angel is a very solid -- and at times even stellar -- successor; it should be seriously considered by anyone who is curious about her music.