Joan Osborne has been treading an intersting musical path for a number of years, taking her via Qawwali singing and R&B tributes, since her fiery stardom in 1995 on the back of Relish.

Pretty Little Stranger is being mooted as her country record, but while it is country in terms of having pedal steel and fiddles in the mix, it is not as blatant as some would have it. Sonny Landreth pops in with a trademark slide solo, Alison Krauss lends her dulcet tones to Holy Waters and surprisingly Patty Griffin turns up in a version of her own song What You Are.

Vince Gill is anothe famous name guest artist, along with Rodney Crowell, so the credentials are certainly there, and her interpretations of classic songs fit in more with her own style than any obvious sop to the Country music establishment. Pretty Little Stranger is a genuine attempt to demonstrate an affinity with the country sound, but retain here own principles.

Track Listing :

• Pretty Little Stranger
• Holy Waters
• Brokedown Palace
• What You Are
• Shake That Devil
• Time Won't Tell
• Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends
• Who Divided
• Till I Get It Right
• Dead Roses
• After Jane
• When the Blue Hour Comes
  

Find out the latest news at the Joan Osborne website