Jack Williams - Across the Winterline (1999)

Jack Williams' rich, studied songwriting is informed by a wide variety of American-rooted styles -- such as rock, blues, folk and country -- and is at its most effective on the spare yet memorable Across the Winterline. Williams' smoky tenor voice and finger-picked guitar are the main instruments on the album, and additional embellishments are used effectively for periodic changes of pace. The real stars, though, are Williams' songs -- often introspective and serious, filled with images of nature and the American landscape, rich in poetic metaphor, and always well-crafted. Across the Winterline is a quiet, understated gem.