Elizabeth Cook Balls (15th Anniversary) LP

Americana singer/songwriter Elizabeth Cook's fourth album celebrates its 15th anniversary. Originally released May 1, 2007, Balls includes the song "Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman" and the title track, which was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2007 Americana Music Awards.

Cook remains a fixture of Nashville's singer/songwriter circles. She's performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 400 times, has worked with everyone from Jason Isbell to Steve Earle to John Prine, hosts her own Sirius XM show on the Outlaw Country station, and hosts a fishing-and-interview series on the new Circle country-music and lifestyle network. NPR Music deemed Elizabeth a "treasure" of the Americana scene.

Balls has the same power and charm evident on her earlier outings and the bonus of Rodney Crowell's sharp production talents. Every track crackles like a pork fat fueled barbecue fire, full of the spunk and sass that make Cook an artist to watch...Cook's been called a cross between Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, and a tune like 'Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman' tells you that the comparisons aren't mere hyperbole. It's a honky tonk stomp that delineates the problems facing the fairer sex with good humor and sharp observations of the strength it takes to deal with the male ego. 'What Do I Do' is Western swing in the style of Merle Haggard, a weeper that finds the singer torn between giving her heart away and walking away from a bad situation. Some nice Roy Nichols-style electric guitar fills add authenticity to the track. Cook's just as commanding on the album's ballads. 'Down Girl' is as dark as anything Gillian Welch has written, 'Rest Your Weary Mind,' a duet with Bobby Bare, Jr., sounds like a hundred-year-old folk lament, while 'Mama's Prayers' is a ringer for Parton's homespun Tennessee tales of tribulation. The most surprising track is 'Sunday Morning,' the Velvet Underground oldie transformed into a mournful ballad given extra melancholy by Matt Combs' fiddle work. Balls is a great album made by people who obviously love the grit and honesty of real music.

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