Apparently ABC is deeply invested in its hit television series Nashville; this soundtrack is the second volume from its first season. Creator and executive producer Callie Khouri's drama about the city's musical and political scenes, wound around and through the intimate lives of country stars Rayna James (Connie Britton) and Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), are given weight and heft by a stellar cast that includes Charles Esten (Deacon Clayborne), Clare Bowen (Scarlett O’Connor), and Sam Palladino (Gunnar), among others. For those who don't already know, the actors in the series actually perform the songs assigned them. The music is selected, directed, and often produced and performed by
T-Bone Burnett and his ace studio band, which includes guitarist
Buddy Miller. This second volume features two performances from
Britton and three by
Panettiere. Of those songs, the standouts are clear, the latter's reading of
Patty Griffin's "We Are Water" reveals the deepening of her character and stands in stark contrast to the more pop-oriented offerings on the previous volume, as does her performance of
Sarah Buxton and
Kate York's "Nothing in This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again," with its well-placed strings and canny drumming by
Jay Bellerose.
Britton's reading of
Lucinda Williams' "Bitter Memory" -- a crunchy rocker produced by
the Black Keys'
Dan Auerbach -- and her more languid performance of
Buxton's and
York's "Stronger Than Me" offers an intimate and convincing look Rayna's personal struggles (should
Britton choose to become a solo artist apart from acting, she'd have no trouble). Lennon & Maisy Stella, the two young women who play Rayna's daughters, deliver their own intimate, killer take on
the Lumineers' hit, "Ho Hey," while the duo of O'Connor and Palladino deliver wonderful duets in "Fade Into You" and "I Will Fall," which may be the album's finest tracks. Like the second half of the first season in this series, this volume has plenty to offer fans of the show, but more importantly, to fans of Americana and non-formulaic contemporary country to boot. ~ Thom Jurek