*** Kathy Mattea

LOVE TRAVELS

(Mercury Nashville)

On Love Travels, Mattea strays from the Nashville hit-factory formula (and the chart-friendly country of her hit Walking Away a Winner) to incorporate elements of gospel, Cajun, and Celtic, employing the type of lean, pared-down arrangements she hasn't used since her folkie days. She's traded in mega-producer Josh Leo for iconoclastic Ben Wisch (noted for his work with Mark Cohn), and Wisch allows her throaty alto the breathing space to soar through such tracks as the spiritual paean "Sending Me Angels" and the simply joyous "Patiently Waiting," where she intones: "Good things come to those/Who hit the road when they know what they want."

Mattea's impeccable taste in material includes Lionel Cartwright's "If That's What You Call Love," where the gentle wail of pedal steel accentuates her plea to transcend romantic game playing. "455 Rocket" pays cheerful homage to a souped-up automobile with clever, tongue-in-cheek wordplay. Cheryl Wheeler's "Further and Further Away" takes a painful look at aging parents, with Suzy Bogguss delivering a plaintive vocal harmony. Love Travels showcases Mattea as an artist at the zenith of a musical and spiritual rebirth.

-- David Gérard