Kate Wolf & The Wildwood Flower - Back Roads (1994)

Wolf's debut recording (released in 1976 on her Owl Records imprint) was only a small indication what was to come. After all, who could have predicted the influence she would have on a generation of singer-songwriters? In retrospect, this first studio effort sounds a bit tentative; it's as if Wolf holds back for fear of giving too much too soon. She needn't have worried; she was a prolific songwriter and interpreter who never ran short of material. The sad opener "Lately" and the kick-up-your-heels joy "Sitting on the Porch" point toward the intimate, confessional lyrical tone she came to master.