Reviewed by Chris Tozer

Singer/songwriter Pierce Pettis was a welcome visitor to this year's Greenbelt of course. Pierce continues to carry the torch of incisive singer songwriting once borne by the late Mark Heard. Indeed, his fourth album kicks off with a stripped down rendition of one of Heard's most popular songs - "Satellite Sky". The path of today's folk singer leads inexorably from small town America to the neon of Nashville and all too often any acoustic accompaniment soon gets swamped by whatever sound is currently in vogue. Happily, Pettis has always managed to find producers sympathetic to his particular musical pilgrimage and none more so that David Miner from the legendary Alpha Band who on the impressive 'Chase The Buffalo' album brought Pierce to the crossover zone between roots and AOR. It would appear that having sojourned for a while within the city limits, the pair have retreated like the outlaw of "My Life Of Crime" that Pettis professes to be, back to the hills where electricity is mainly restricted to the lightning on Lookout mountain. There they've been joined by Choirboys Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong who brought a percussive feel to this fine collection of letters from America. Alabama's best-kept secret continues to match Cockburnish guitar work with delicate songs of both faith and life.

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