Dale Ann Bradley has the kind of pure, clear voice that tends to launch true country music fans into hyperbole. Or perhaps it's not hyperbole at all, because enough can't be said about the way this woman sings. Purists who see
Bradley as a bluegrass singer might shy away from this one, especially with tracks like the drop-dead gorgeous opener: There's nothing high and lonesome about "Reason to Cry," it's simply a gorgeously melodic track that would sit well in the modern folk/country genre. "Steady As a Rock" trolls the same gospel waters that
Bradley would later plunge fully into on 2001's
Songs of Praise and Glory. "What Am I Doing Loving You Again" is classic country in the vein of
Dolly Parton or Kitty Wells -- and as strong as anything those two legends have ever released. The truth told,
Dale Ann Bradley just may be the finest country singer of her generation, not only in voice but phrasing. Sadly, though, that fact may remain unnoticed by all but a small cache of critics and fans (particularly when "country" has become the moniker for a very limited genre of pop music). Nevertheless,
Old Southern Porches is clear evidence that
Dale Ann Bradley is one of the great ones -- and that ain't no hyperbole. ~ Erik Hage