Gary Cornelius

Having taken 47 years to record his first disc, Mending Fences, it took a relatively short time to come up with the follow-up, Feather. Cut from the same cloth as the first with almost identical producers and musicians, it presents a fitting sequel. Again, the production of Ken Abeling beautifully brings out the folk-country backing for Cornelius' baritone. The confidence of his singing has grown and become soulful in the sense of Southern soul balladeers. A stand-out track like "In the Flood Land," which documents the Manitoba floods as a fiddle and steel draped hymnal, is writing of a very high order and bears comparison with Tom Russell, Chip Taylor and Peter Rowan. Another master is affectionately remembered in "Goodbye Townes," and his ghost seems to pervade the disc. "A Tender Heart" is like a Louvin Brothers' outtake, while "Snow" and "Bayou Morning" recall artists such as Bruce Cockburn and John Prine. Sometimes the air of coziness can become almost cloying, but at its best (as on "Angels in the Air") the fine balance between sentimentality and true lyricism is mastered, and the effect is truly magical. ~ Shaun Belcher, All Music Guide