Free to Do What?

Dedicated to her mother, lead singer and songwriter Cindy Wolfe has a perfect voice for the country & western era of the original Grand Ole Opry. And while the songs hark back sonically to the likes of Kitty Wells and an early Dolly Parton or Tammy Wynette, lyrically the songs touch upon modern issues such as globalization, Prozac, and the Western ways of the world on the title track. "Oh Darkness," with its pedal steel guitar and gentle harmonies, exemplifies most of the album's simple strength of a timeless honky tonk barroom style. "Southern Duckhead" is one of several high points where everything seems to fit in just under two minutes. "Tomorrow I'm Gonna Leave Him" is also brief but symbolizes most of the album's professional yet lightly produced charm, with some wry humor added in sporadically. An odd selection is "Aunt Apple and Cousin Orange," a '60s flower-power pop song that has some country elements, but neither complement each other. The concluding songs have a small Celtic trace running through them, with Wolfe doing an admirable job on "Wildflowers," penned by Dolly Parton. Doing justice to such a sacred style of the genre is a difficult chore, but the album lives up to the requirements in spades.