Sunny Sweeney
Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame (n / a)
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., March 9, 2007

Sunny Sweeney
Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame
Honky-tonk heartbreaker Sunny Sweeney screams country. Make that twangs. Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame doubles as the twentysomething's local debut, but it demonstrates the self-assurance of someone much more accomplished. Backed by a who's who of countrymen drummer Tom Lewis and guitarist Tommy Detamore, who are also responsible for production, plus Casper Rawls, Bobby Flores, Eddie Perez, and Ted Roddy the sound is impeccable. The songs are where Sweeney fails just a bit. There are already definitive versions of Libby Bosworth's "East Texas Pines" and Tim Carroll's "If I Could," so their selections are suspect, but Audrey Auld's "Next Big Nothing" is a two-stepper's delight, and a duet with Jim Lauderdale on Keith Sykes' "Lavender Blue" bears just the right tinge of sorrow. Sweeney isn't much of a writer yet but it's obvious she possesses plenty of talent to be shaking things up for a long time. (Wednesday, March 14, Parish, 9pm)
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