Carolyn Hester - That's My Song (1964/2022)

That's My Song found Hester reunited with Buddy Holly/Fireballs producer Norman Petty, for whom she had first recorded in the late 1950s. Had it been released a year earlier, she might have been considered a bit ahead of the times, as it had guitar-bass-percussion arrangements (with George Tomsco of the Fireballs on guitar) that fell just short of folk-rock. There was also some contemporary material by the likes of Tom Paxton (no less than three Paxton compositions, actually), Mark Spoelstra, and George and Barbara Tomsco, as well as a cover of Buddy Holly's "Lonesome Tears" and a rare self-penned number from Hester herself, the pensive ballad "Stay Not Late." As it was, it was actually just a little behind the folk-rock cutting edge when it was released. It's still an enjoyable, if modest, recording that sometimes has a Tex-Mex feel, not surprising considering the involvement of Tomsco (whose "Ain't That Rain," written with his wife Barbara, is one of the album's standouts). Hester also began to show a greater vocal range, particular in the deeper parts, that was more satisfying than her recordings in the earlier part of the '60s, which had focused very much on high singing along the lines of early Joan Baez and Judy Collins.