Patty Loveless – Dreamin’ My Dreams

After 2001’s stellar bluegrass hoedown, Mountain Soul, and the equally enchanting radio-ready country of 2003’s On Your Way Home, Patty Loveless gracefully bridges the two with Dreamin’ My Dreams. Her song selection, as usual, proves impeccable, ranging from the brazen first single “Keep Your Distance” to the gorgeous, excruciating “When Being Who You Are Is Not Enough” (made even more painful by Emmylou Harris’ aching harmony). And for the bluegrass fans, Loveless pulls out a frisky fiddle romp on “Big Chance.” When so many of today’s female country singers are essentially pop balladeers backed by steel guitar, Patty Loveless stands as a Southern savior of traditionalist country. After all, when’s the last time you heard someone belt out a good “I ain’t gonna’ hem-haw?”