Amazon.com Merritt’s resonant if somewhat conventionally alt-country debut Bramble Rose did little to predict this blue-eyed-soul breakout. A mix of hard-charging guitar rockers, horn-charted grooves, and pensive singer-songwriter ballads, Tambourine might have resulted in a stylistic hodge-podge, but producer George Drakoulias lends the same punchy, live-tracked vitality that distinguished the best work of the Jayhawks, Black Crowes, and Maria McKee. Merritt taps deep into her southern musical roots to find her own voice, and that voice has fully blossomed–her enunciation is clearer, her phrasing sensual without straining. Her best songs balance the urgent economy of classic soul singles with a personal, if not precisely confessional, intensity. Like Van Morrison and Dusty Springfield, Merritt follows her country, soul, and rock & roll instincts to find a single ecstatic sound, one that culminates in the full-out gospel testimony of “Shadow in the Way.” Tambourine may not quite live up to the Dusty in Memphis comparisons, but it may very well wind up the album of Tift Merritt’s career. –Roy Kasten Product Description Tift Merritt’s new album Tambourine is the highly anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed 2002 debut Bramble Rose. Produced by George Drakoulias (The Jayhawks,The Black Crowes, Tom Petty), Tambourine was recorded with an all-star band including: Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Maria McKee (Lone Justice), Robert Randolph & Don Heffington (Bob Dylan) as well as a full gospel choir & horn section. Tambourine sounds like an instant classic, drawing influences from Dusty Springfield’s Dusty In Memphis, Delaney & Bonnie’s Accept No Substitute & Shelby Lynne’s I Am Shelby Lynne. Review Merritt deserves to move from the fringes onto the A list of country-rockers thanks to this joy of an album — People Magazine September 6, 2004 Merritt s voice is a magical combination of cool reserve and effortless warmth Grade: A- — Entertainment Weekly August 20, 2004 There’s not a dud among the dozen tracks, a testament to Merritt’s talent as both a distinctive singer and writer. — Rolling Stone, September 16, 2004

Features

• Tift Merritt- Tambourine