Promise To A Soldier (Chateau Music Group, 2005)

Almost a decade ago, Honi Deaton caught the attention of the bluegrass world as lead singer and primary songwriter of the Idaho-based Grasshoppers. If some of the music on this second release from her own band sounds familiar, well, three of the tunes ("River Of Tears," "It Amazes Me," "I'm Callin' Jesus") are new versions of material from the self-titled Grasshoppers disc released in 2000 on Doobie Shea. Nothing wrong with that. They're all written or co-written by Deaton, and she's as powerful a songwriter as a vocalist, and though the new arrangements are a bit different, they're still good songs backed up by a good band.

Deaton also displays a fondness for grassing up classics from the '50s era, taking a Patsy Cline turn here with "Walking After Midnight" and covering Hank Locklin's "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On," both with rewarding results. And, she even takes a crack at yodeling with a cover of Patsy Montana's "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart," acquitting herself reasonably well.

Deaton may not be at the level of bluegrass recognition that Rhonda Vincent holds, but she is among the more accomplished and entertaining vocalists on the scene. (Chateau, 4075 Mini Trail, Cummings, GA 30041)