Any one who enjoys sneering at country music should take a good listen to Gillian Welch. No maudlin kitsch for her - instead this intensely serious Californian lady takes this sorely misunderstood genre back to its storytelling roots. Best known here for her contribution to the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, her first proper solo album - with partner David Rawlings on production duties - reveals her to be a gifted songwriter with a real feeling for lyrical tragedy. Singing in a sweet, soulful twang, she has the rare ability to switch between heart-rending autobiography and cool depictions of such dysfunctional characters as a wayward beauty queen. She also throws in some sparse renditions of traditional standards, a tacit acknowledgement of those who have come before her. If there is a problem, it's that some of the tracks have a big-band backing that doesn't really gel with Welch's solitary voice. That minor quibble aside, however, Soul Journey comes highly recommended as proof positive that old-time music can have just as much - and often a hell of a lot more - emotional resonance as any passing industry fad.

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