Aural Fixations

TIFT MERRITT
Tambourine
(Lost Highway)
Like Lucinda Williams, Tift Merritt thinks of different styles of American roots music as being essentially the same thing. Folk, country & western, soul, rock & roll—these all come from the same impulse, so why make distinctions between them? While the North Carolina songwriter's first album Bramble Rose tried a little too hard to iron that eclecticism out into a comfortable singer/songwriter suit, Tambourine lets her musical wanderings flow naturally, without impediment. The result is a more unified and satisfying album. Pinning Merritt down to one sound is a fool's game, and producer George Drakoulias wisely doesn't try. Gathering a crack studio band featuring members of her road band, the Jayhawks and Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, plus her fellow troubadours Neal Casal and Maria McKee, Drakoulias keeps the sound warm and the arrangements centered around his client's glorious pipes. At this early stage of her career, Merritt can seemingly write and sing anything and still has the huevos to try. She's as strong on C&W weepers like "Still Pretending" and "Good Hearted Man" as she is on singer/songwriter folk rock jewels like "Laid a Highway" and "Stray Paper." She also unveils a shockingly strong approach to R&B. "Write My Ticket" is a soul ballad in the Dusty Springfield tradition, and while "Your Love Made a U-Turn" boasts a cheesy title, the track itself is worthy of Aretha Franklin. But where she really shines is on the rockers. With the band raising a ruckus behind her, she lets loose on "Late Night Pilgrim," "I am Your Tambourine" and the spectacular "Wait It Out" in a fashion her heroine McKee never quite achieved in Lone Justice. Tambourine is a great record, soulful and rocking. Better yet, Tift Merritt, as wonderful as she is now, is just getting started. Michael Toland [buy it]