Have Faith (Molenaart, 2008)

West Coast honky tonker James Intveld doesn't enjoy a particularly high profile, and that may not change with his fourth release either. But it won't be because of the quality of the music, which is ultra high. Intveld goes the traditional route throughout, starting off with "Pretty World," recorded by Wynn Stewart. The retro feel continues with "This Place Ain't What It Used to Be" and "Let's Get Started," both of which he co-wrote, the latter with Kostas.

Intveld employed 4 producers, including himself, to create the 10 songs, typically a recipe for too many cooks spoiling the goodies. Not here because the results indicate it didn't matter who was at the controls. All four maintain a very traditional sound and don't mess with the sound that Intveld so clearly loves. There's a lot of pedal steel ("A Woman's Touch" from Doug Livingston), twangy guitar and fast-paced guitar. Intveld delivers the songs with a sense of emotion, getting soulful on the title track and tackles gospel on the closing "Walk With Me" with The Jordanaires providing backing vocals.

Intveld's last release came out in 2000. Too bad the wait was so long because his latest is of such high quality that he better not wait so long again.