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On The Floor of Heaven
Blue Shadows
Sony/Epic
This release is a synthesis of Brit pop and old line country, with enough twang to suit Jimmie Rodgers fans and enough sugary harmonies and brittle lead guitar to suit any power pop fan. Leader Billy Cowsill, a member of the old sixties pablum rock group the Cowsills (a prototype for the Partridge Family), may have established a new standard for aging and growing artistically. He’'s got the kind of creased, embattled look you associate with Harry Dean Stanton and the kind of lyrical skill one expects from Harlan Howard or the Bryant brothers.
The songs, written by Cowsill and Jeffrey Hatcher, are exquisitely crafted and feel genuine, and the band slides easily from swing ("The Fool is the Last One to Know") to lachrymose ballad ("One the Floor of Heaven"). At this point, Cowsill's affect you more immediately, but Hatcher doesn't lag far behind in terms of quality. Probably the best country-rock synthesis since the Flying Burrito Brothers.
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