Paula Frazer

Dim the lights and get out the hooch before you throw this on. This collection of Paula Frazer’s work from 1992 to 2002 finds her channelling the spirits of Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash in the pure vocal and guitar playin’ style of the old-country masters. Could a CD possibly open more hauntingly than with Frazer’s "The Only One”? I had no idea my skin could goose bump like it did to these three-and-a-half-minutes of musical perfection. Her voice is rich and clear, each note she sings being either as light as a feather stroke or so heavy you’ll need another shot. She brings a sincerity to the songs which stick tightly to the country music tradition of storytelling — mostly tales of heartbreak, longing and loneliness with a couple lighter ones to mix things up. And the fact that all 12 songs were captured over the decade on a crappy little four-track recorder only works in her favour. Production quality is almost non-existent but that unpolished, rough-hewn, salt-of-the-earth charm suits Frazer’s musings just fine. Besides, musicians like Frazer show how it can be done without embellishment or artifice. A couple layers of vocals with no accompaniment other than the strums of her guitar are all she needs. Also included are three enhanced tracks of Frazer’s performing, which my promo copy unfortunately didn’t have so I can’t review. But I highly recommend buying a copy to see for yourself.