Libbi Bosworth

Libbi Bosworth

Libbiville (Ramble)

It took Libbi Bosworth five years to follow up her impressive debut Outskirts of You, but Libbiville was well worth the wait. As she has before, Bosworth tackles a wide range of styles with a voice that oozes country. Her melodies continue to be thoroughly infectious, but this time, she comes at you with sassy confidence that's invigorating. There are duets with Don Walser (the George Jones & Tammy Wynette chestnut, "Something to Brag About") and Toni Price (the rollicking "Man Overboard"), and supporting help by an amazing cast of Austin's best, including Johnny Gimble, Bruce Robison, Gurf Morlix, Casper Rawls, Gary Primich, Paul Skelton, Earl Poole Ball, and Lloyd Maines. But it's really all window dressing compared to the talents Bosworth puts on display. She wrote 10 of the 13 songs on Libbiville, and her sly sense of humor and ability to capture simple emotions and everyday situations and put them to music is a rare gift. When Bosworth starts off the disc with the appropriately gleeful honky-tonk "Ha Ha Ha" and the lines "he took my rubber duck, and left his tattoo on the table; I'd like to come within a hundred miles of something stable," you know you're in for a musical ride of a different sort, and she doesn't disappoint. From the Tex-Mex-inflected "South Texas Highway" and the rocking "Disappearing Ink," with a searing guitar solo from Skelton, to the tender emotions on display in "Good Luck Charm," Austin's Libbi Bosworth proves time and again that she's a rare gem of a country singer. Libbiville is a place you'll not only want to visit, but a place you'll want to stay.