Elizabeth Cook - Hey Y'all (2002)

Through more than 100 appearances on The Grand Ole Opry, Elizabeth Cook built strong ties to the audience most likely to respond to her debut album. Her voice throughout Hey Y'all begs comparison to classic country divas such as Loretta Lynn and especially Dolly Parton, to whom Cook pays good-humored tribute on "Dolly." Her nasal intonation and Southern lilt bear the ring of authenticity and her writing bypasses contemporary distractions in order to connect directly to a more conservative aesthetic. The results, always agreeable, can be startling when Cook throws a lyrical curve: The word "virginity" clangs like a dinner bell on the last line of "Demon," a finger-wag warning set to a honky tonk saunter. The classic old-time harmonies and medium-tempo rockabilly sway of "Blue Shades," the cameo monologue by Bill Anderson on the barroom lament "Don't Bother Me," the steel guitars that slither through several tracks, the unabashed if predictable gospel hand-clapper "God's Got a Plan," the infectious barn-dance hook of "Stupid Things," and above all her thrilling rendition of Jessi Colter's "I'm Not Lisa" all affirm the power of unadulterated old-time country and Cook's complete command of this idiom.