Becky Schlegel - Country Ballads (2008)

The sweet-voiced Becky Schlegel sings with the clear, dulcet tones that suggest the sparkling rural lakes that populate her current home state of Minnesota. The South Dakota native doesn't attempt to do anything fancy on her first national release (following several regionally released discs), but she succeeds marvelously in projecting a natural charm and confidence that most primarily recall Alison Krauss. Like Krauss, Schlegel came up through the traditional bluegrass ranks but, as this album demonstrates, she is no strict traditionalist. While For All the World to See holds a definite bluegrass flavor, it also exudes gentle country qualities that result in some beautiful rustic music with just enough pop polish to appeal to a broader Americana audience. "For All the World to See" starts the disc off on a high note with Schlegel's darkly lilting vocals playing off of Brian Fesler's banjo and Bo Ramsey's guitar work as she bittersweetly addresses someone who "didn't have to try that hard to hurt me." A sense of melancholia surfaces throughout this album, flowing through songs like the cello-laced "Why Maybe," the nostalgic "Hills of South Dakota," and the spare "Lonely," one of her most lovely efforts. Schlegel, however, nicely shifts tempos during the disc without compromising its alluring bucolic tone. The enchanting love ode "Best Time of the Day" finds Schlegel's warm singing sparked by Fesler's banjo and Jeff Midkiff's mandolin. Midkiff and Fesler's picking also propels "99%," the toe-tapping tune about a broken relationship. Schlegel sublimely blends her bluegrass and country-pop strands on the gorgeous "I Need Your Love," which also stands an album highlight. The haunting "Jenny" is another memorable track, partly because it evokes Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and partly because of its own strengths as a heartbroken apologia. With this thoroughly accomplished, totally captivating effort, Schlegel seems poised to break out from a being a well-regarded regional performer to an acclaimed Americana darling.