Gillian Welch - Revival (Music CD)

The debut album by Gillian Welch is aptly titled. In an alt-country scene primarily focused on adapting the sound and feeling of old-time traditional country to its own ends, this singer-songwriter, along with her ever-present musical partner David Rawlings, is more interesting in taking the sound of the Carter Family and transplanting it whole into the middle of the 1990s. T-Bone Burnett produced the album with such a sharp eye towards period authenticity that even the occasional modern musical elements (bits of electric guitar and drums, and keyboards) sound of a piece. The songwriting is uniformly excellent, with mature, emotionally resonant songs like "Orphan Girl" sitting comfortably next to such bluesy character pieces as "Tear My Stillhouse Down". Although Welch's future albums would maintain this high level of quality, REVIVAL is an impressive debut of a richly talented singer and songwriter.