High Noon

This collection of songs from Mark Heard's last three recordings before his death in August 1992 is a roots-rocker's delight. Electric mandolin, guitar, Chapman Stick, and the occasional accordion and fiddle grind out music that is equal parts rock, Cajun, country, and folk. The real beauty, however, lies in Heard's lyrics, which rise above romance, religion, or politics to address the human condition. Whether it be the lonely despair of "Orphans of God," the confrontation of one's fears in "Look Over Your Shoulder," or the plea for resurrection in "Treasure of the Broken Land," Heard sought out the best and worst in all of us, trying to find the "miraculous circumstance, where the blind ones see and the dry bones dance." --Brad Caviness