Where
Mortal City was a consciously reformatted
Honesty Room,
End of the Summer was an over-the-top break away from
Mortal City, and
The Green World was an admission that
End of the Summer was a forced endeavor,
The Beauty of the Rain is
Dar Williams' first recording that truly expands upon the sound of the album before it. For the first time in her career,
Williams no longer pushed too hard to readjust her sound, but instead embraced and built upon it. The result is her most comfortable and confident recording to date and the first time
Williams did not appear to be ashamed of her previous work. Complete with a heavy roster including
John Medeski,
Alison Krauss,
Béla Fleck, and
John Popper,
The Beauty of the Rain is a polished and spacious-sounding recording where virtually every track is an easy parade through flourishing arrangements and accessibility. The only song to stand out as a bit off the mark is the initially stunning "Whispering Pines," which shifts from a lovely, lush backing vocal and keyboard opening to a new age-tinted piano ballad, but when the third verse sets in, guest
Cliff Eberhardt's soulless and strained singing turns it into a poor Disney-style "end-of-picture" duet and the whole song crashes down in a train wreck of poor judgment. Album-opener and extraordinary single "Mercy of the Fallen," the staccato intricacies of "Closer to Me," and the understated title track more than make up for this blunder and will certainly please passionate fans as well as increase
Dar Williams' fan base considerably. ~ Gregory McIntosh