Sunny Sweeney - Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame

When you hear the opening track of Sunny Sweeney's debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame, there is no doubting this gal is the real deal. Her voice, her songs, her delivery, it's all so soothing to a heart battered by years of listening to people call washed-up 80's pop "country," it's absolutely indescribable. This East Texas beauty spent a few years in New York testing herself as a stand-up, but obviously - and this is clear listening to her songs - she was absolutely born to be a country singer. And by that, I do mean COUNTRY. The kind of country where you can smell the clover and the hay and the animals, hear the chickens clucking and the engine of the tractor popping along in the fields. Her tunes are toe-tapping, front-porch-rocking, two- stepping classics, each and every one. There's not a weak track on this disc, nothing that stands out clunky or out-of-place. She sings not only her own wonderful songs, such as "Refresh My Memory," the title track, and "Lavender Blue" (with Jim Lauderdale joining her on vocals), but also some spot-on covers, such as Iris Dement's "Mama's Opry" and the best version of "16th Avenue" I think I've ever heard.

Sunny's gathered up some great musicians to back her, as well. In addition to the great Jim Lauderdale joining her on vocals for "Lavender Blue" (and she also sings one of his songs), she also has special guests Eddie Perez on guitars, Gary Claxton and D.B. Harris on harmony vocals, Skip Edwards on organ, Ted Roddy on harmonica, and Terje Kinn on banjo (this is in addition to her regular band, including Lars Albrecht, Tom Lewis, David Carroll, Tommy Delamore, Bobby Flores, and Casper Rawls). Sunny herself co-produced with Tommy Delamore and Tom Lewis. Certainly, she's far "too country" for, ahem, "country" radio - unless they actually remember who Merle Haggard is (and not just as a duet partner for Gretchen Wilson) and have some passing knowledge of Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, and Hank Williams, of course. It means she won't have a big audience initially - but who knows? There's a slim, offhand chance someone out there in Corporate radio-land will remember what country is supposed to sound like; if so, then this gal belongs on every country music play list in the country. In the meantime, at least there's Americana (at least, for some lucky folks!). You want COUNTRY music? This is it.