Stepping Stone (Lyric Street, 1998)

After a brief splash in the mid '90's with several hits, Lari White virtually disappeared from the charts - but not from any fault of her own. She disagreed with her old label, RCA, and asked out.

One of country's strongest yet most underrated voices has returned. This one is hands down her strongest yet. Aside from great song material, her voice really soars. The strength is truly in the vocals - soft and delicate at times while also explosive and powerful. Not particularly known as a songwriter, she wrote some of the better songs. The title cut, an upbeat, electric number, is a real mood lifter while songs like "This Is Love" feature lullaby vocals.

It's a sad truth in this industry that great voices can be muffled by corporate suits and decision-makers. Thankfully - White's voice is even too powerful for that.