I'd give this CD 10 stars if Amazon allowed it!..But I can't, say enough superlatives about how fine Shawn Colvin's vocals, guitar licks, and lyrics are..I saw a concert with Jackson Browne and he introduced Shawn as the most talented artist he knew!..Shocking, but true!..Jackson Browne's legacy has always been to kickstart the careers of less visible talent..Because Jackson is so adroit himself, he doesn't envy other people's talents, but rather salutes them..And Shawn Colvin is well, a rock angel for the ages!..She just needs to hit the road with an amped "live" tour, with the same class band she had years ago when I saw her sing "Tennessee" on the Tonite Show, before she was remotely well known: to build that Shawn Colvin Legion of Tye-Dye-Hard Core Followers, like The Dead Heads: a mobile symphonic gas, The Colvin Electric Cars, rolling right into your town, "alive"..And not play acoustic only all the time, though that's serious picking too..People I know and respect, see her acoustic concerts and often dont "get" Shawn, regrettably..Sorry, you whiney purists out there, but Shawn is better, backed by an all star, electrified, rock band..This is a must own CD..I've played it countless times and it remains as fresh as rain water..Curiously, every song on the CD is a standard..That's rare, to nail every cut..I've never understood why Shawn isn't a people's express..Her banner hanging on every street lamp in Austin..It's mystifying because all the raw talent natural law allows in one person is there..One better, Shawn is a Dylan..Songwriter par excellence.."Riding Shotgun Down the Avalanche" is way smart, hip!..And that middle guitar solo is note-bending magic!..But not better than "In the Dead of the Night," the dark queen of all ballads! "I live in a dream, I brought it here, everynight it dies but it is reborn"..No fooling, buy this CD for yourself, or give it away: you'll earn instant karma points..Tell your best friends and your worst enemies about Shawn: It's positively 4th street for a Hatfield to educate a McCoy now and again, for a worthy cause..Pay it forward..Shawn Colvin has been unfairly compared to Joni Mitchell ad naseum, but that's not righteous either, because she's too original to be compared to yet another superstar..Though I myself, did compare her to Bob..I'm sharing this because I'm paying it forward..And I'm happy to recommend Shawn in the same way Jackson Browne does, because Shawn Colvin is the real deal, just like Patsy Cline, The Texas Tornado, was!..Believe it!..It's the down and dirty truth! Not your typical, hyperbolic West Texas dust storm!

OK, that's a bit of an exageration, but I love it! This CD is a gem. It's the one that I come back to over and over. And then I listen to it over and over. Not a bad one in the batch. Every time I hear the lines like to The Story I'm amazed. I don't know why, but this verse just amazes me:

Well our father married our mother too young
And he took on a world like a fortunate son
But in the cellar downstairs waiting for the bomb scare
He would hide from us under the kitchen
Where she simmered so soft with her weapons of tin
And like so many suppers she just gave us to him
And he never did guess in her cast iron dress
She was burning beyond recognition

PERFECTION! The title song is strong and determined. The lines: Cause he seemed like a miracle, I ate it up like cereal, but it was something like shrapnel" rank up there with the absolute best descriptions of relationships gone wrong. Shotgun is a marvel of emotional expression. Something To Believe In is tender and touching but not in the least saccharine sweet. Shawn Colvin's delivery is always 100% on the money. The production is great. The instrumentation never outweighs the songs.

On this album Shawn Colvin shows that she is not just another girl with a guitar but an incredible talent. There isn't a bad number on this CD. Highly recommended!

What can I say? This is the CD/Album of the Decade! Colvin has shot across our musical sky like a multi-colored comet! Her command of her instruments (singing/playing/writing,) is breathtaking! This CD (along with Bonnie Raitt's 'Nick of Time') became my own personal anthems for the 90's! Man, can this woman write?! There are a few lady singer/songwriters out there, who are going to have to go back to school to catch up with Shawn! She's come a long way from Carbondale, and I'd say her success is way overdue!

The second Colvin's works is wonderful. The reason I give it five stars is because of the title track. It is a wonderful song with lively instruments. Shawn keeps on going strong, let's hope, in the future and the future is now from then and she is!

I first bought this CD years ago and could not stop listening to it. I don't konw what happened to it, but I'm buying it again. These songs bring back memories that I want to hold on. I consider this CD a place marker in my life.

Nice, folksy, easy listening music.