Reason & Rhyme (Copper Creek, 2004)

Kathy Kallick is a familiar name in acoustic music circles. Kallicks' voice is usually a more reflective one than hard-driving bluegrass with strong old time influences. The hallmark of her latest CD is songs that are easy to listen to, musical suggestions to close your eyes and just listen awhile, acoustic but not fitting neatly into any single genre.

The subjects cover a wide range of emotions. Few songs are more poignant than "Take Care Of Your Little Girls" with its vivid descriptions of the effects of sexual abuse of a child. She sings of love in "What A Night" with a bluesy, rocking beat while "Lone Pilgrim" is off in a completely different direction, only Kallick with a droning fiddle (Laurie Lewis) behind her. The musicians backing her include some of the top names in bluegrass - Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Peter Rowan, Sally Van Meter and more, and she penned most of the songs.

This CD is like a spot of shade on a sunny day - a place to stop for the pure enjoyment of it.