Can I Go Home With You? (Self-released, 2003)

With this debut, Texan Amy Crenshaw comes out swinging. Crenshaw's voice is rich, deep, and warm; a true instrument. She wisely avoids the overdone hiccupy style preferred by some, though she clearly has the range for it. Instead, her style is smooth, with the occasional well-placed growl.

The disc has the quality of a good live performance, tearing out with Joanne Campbell's "Wait a Minute2 and ripping into song after song with barely a pause in-between. There are three other covers, but the rest are originals. The highlights are "Oh No, I'm in Love Again," "C1mon Into my Kitchen" and the fabulous "No More Doggin' Around," with its distinctive, sexy, crawling style. Most of the song writing credit goes to guitarist Alan Wooley, whose firecracker riffs are nothing short of superb.

If this release has a flaw, it is that it is too perfect. The production is excellent, the sound full, and the skills of Crenshaw and her band are apparent in every area. What it lacks is that particular fingerprint that marks a band as distinctive, and a letting go that puts the listener there in the room. ( E-Mail: mitchren@earthlink.net, 214-342-0885)