This is
Howard's debut album, and it showcases an artist with a very pleasing voice and a knack for songwriting. This Kentucky native wrote/co-wrote ten of the 12 songs on the CD. Like too many major-label releases from Nashville in the '90s,
Howard's album suffers from an obviously formulaic approach to the assemblage of material. Songs like "You're Real," "Melancholy Blue," and "Believe It or Not" aren't country tunes at all, but tiresome adult contemporary ballads, while "Jesus, Daddy and You," a ridiculous lyric, is evidently intended to nail down the Christian Coalition demographic. Songs that actually have a country feel and original, compelling, lyrical content include "Tennessee in My Windshield," "Heartsounds," "Out Here in the Water," and "Was It As Hard to Be Together," the only genuine country ballad on the album. The good news is that
Howard wrote the best songs on the CD, and the bad news is that she also wrote most of the insipid material.
Howard needs to decide whether she wants to sing country or pop; too many Nashville artists try to do both, to the detriment of country music. ~ Philip Van Vleck