Martin Delray - Get Rhythm (1991)

With influences ranging from Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard to Willie Nelson, Martin Delray covered quite a few bases on the promising and unpredictable Get Rhythm. The singer goes for a Bakersfield-minded honky tonk sound on "One In a Row," "Lillie's White Lies" and the title tune, an inspired remake of a Johnny Cash hit featuring Cash himself. But a much more pop-flavored, early-'90s Nashville-type sound prevails on "New Wine" and "If The Wind Blows Sand." The latter sounds like something Glen Campbell would have been comfortable with, while a pop-jazz-meets-pop-country version of the Ray Noble standard "The Very Thought of You" has a very Willie Nelson-ish quality. Not outstanding but definitely above average, Get Rhythm indicated that Delray was a singer to keep an eye on. © Alex Henderson