Pierce Pettis

Despite his best efforts, and nine solid releases, Pierce Pettis remains well under the radar of too many people. Pity. A world-class songwriter, his career achieved lift-off when Joan Baez picked up one of his songs. Since then, Dar Williams and Garth Brooks have done the same, while the performer earned his stripes in NYC performing with contemporaries Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. Yet his longer-term reputation as a crack Nashville-based singer-songwriter has been lost on a wider audience. One listen to That Kind of Love brings with it instant reward. The record is characterized by the keen observation in his lyrics and emotive vocals (a husky blend recalling John Gorka and Roger McGuinn), usually framed by a percussive, rhythmic backdrop of acoustic guitar, banjo and slide. From the opening groove of the buoyant "Nothing But The Wind" to the delicate, introspective "Something for the Pain," Pettis weaves an intoxicating spell that lifts the role of singer-songwriter to loftier heights where reflection and introspection yield to comprehension and clarity. And while he can work certain magic with a cover, as he does with Jesse Winchester's "Talk Memphis," it is originals like the thoroughly addictive "Veracruz" and drop-dead beautiful "Hallelujah Song" that instantly define him as a songwriter equipped with the rarest of gifts.