Erika Jo (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Erika Jo (vocals); Steve Mandile (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Steve Gibson (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); John Jarvis (piano); Steve Nathan (Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Jimmie Lee Sloas, Larry Paxton (bass instrument); Eddie Bayers (drums); Chuck Tilley (percussion); Thomas Flora, Harry Stinson, Wes Hightower, Russell Terrell (background vocals).

While Erika Jo became the youngest person (and first woman) to win the USA Network's NASHVILLE STAR contest, her voice has a worldly understanding beyond her years. Jo has a hopeful/weary, tremblingly confident voice that falls somewhere between Dolly Parton and Reba McIntyre. That voice perfectly matches the music on her swiftly released, 2005 eponymous debut which hearkens back to the folksy country-rock that dominated country radio around the time of her birth.

ERIKA JO begins with a flourish via the hook-laden flirtations of "I Break Things," a beer-soaked anthem that's both fun and clever. The young vocalist shows her range on songs that vary in energy from steady and uplifting ("Strong Tonight") to somberly reflective ("Go"), and in style from bouncy bluegrass ("Going 'til You're Gone") to complex and Beatle-esque ("There Are No Accidents"). She has a knack for uncovering the underlying passion in a well-composed pop song, as on the winsome "Good Day For Goodbye" and her revamp of Jessi Colter's classic hit about pining lovers, "I'm Not Lisa." With her debut record, the youthful Erika Jo proves her television triumph no fluke, with an accomplished collection of tunes. minimize