You'll find
K.T. Oslin in the country section, but don't be fooled. This music is to country as
Kenny G is to jazz -- a slicker, poppier variation on a familiar formula. And
Kenny G's example to the contrary notwithstanding, there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. Oslin's reedy alto doesn't have much of that mountain twang to it (her singing owes much more to
Phoebe Snow than to
Loretta Lynn, whether she knows it or not) and you're not going to hear any tearjerking steel guitar on this collection. But you will certainly hear lots of snappy pop music with good melodies and slick production. Country radio listeners will recognize staples like "Hold Me" and "80s Ladies," but if no one told you that "You Can't Do That" was a country song, you'd never guess. And who cares? This is great pop music, no matter what bin you find it in. ~ Rick Anderson