Matraca Berg - Sunday Morning To Saturday Night (1997)

After spending several years fighting with RCA over how they should market her, Matraca Berg left the label and signed with the emerging indie Rising Tide. Her first effort for the label, Sunday Morning to Saturday Night, rivals her previous masterwork, Lying to the Moon. Between her debut and Sunday Morning, she had immense success as a songwriter, penning such hits as "Strawberry Wine" for the likes of Deana Carter. During that time, however, RCA was more concerned in trying to make Berg fit into conventional contemporary country musical styles, when her eclecticism is a large part of what makes her special. Rising Tide fortunately gave her an opportunity to reclaim that exciting eclecticism with Sunday Morning to Saturday Night. Nearly every song on the record either sparkles with wit or is impeccably observed and affecting. Similarly, the music is fresh and alive, ranging from hard-rocking honky tonk to country-folk to country-rock to moving ballads. It's a terrific, individual album that fully captures everything Berg is capable of achieving.~Sunday Morning to Saturday Night Review by Thom Owens