Jeanette Williams "Thank You For Caring" (Blue Circle Records)

Thank You For Caring, the latest CD by Jeanette Williams, is nothing short of incredibly good.

Don’t look for any flaws in the beautifully executed vocals. There aren’t any. Filler tunes? None here. In fact, it’s difficult to pick out favorites. They all could be, depending on the particular mood of the listener on any given day.

I’ve had  Jeanette Williams‘ CD, on the Blue Circle Records label, sitting in my stack of review material for much too long. I could pitch you a lot of worthless excuses for not picking it up and putting it in the player. Perhaps I wasn’t in the mood to hear a female singer. Or, perhaps, too many other things were sitting in the stack that had just a ton of dynamite pickers on them. On and on.

Shame on me for the delay. Not only is this an outstanding CD both performance-wise and in the song selections, it has its own set of stellar musicians on it. Try Tony Rice, Tim Stafford and Randy Kohrs for examples. And, gee whiz, country vocal god George Jones even makes a guest appearance. As I said previously, what was I thinking in continually pushing this CD to the bottom of the stack?

“Williams picked a wonderful and varied selection of tunes for this CD. It runs the gamut from straight-on bluegrass to solid acoustic country to the bare-bones of guitar and one vocal.”

Williams picked a wonderful and varied selection of tunes for this CD. It runs the gamut from straight-on bluegrass to solid acoustic country to the bare-bones of guitar and one vocal. The latter describes “Either Way I’m Going Home,” one of those deep-thinking set of lyrics co-written by Tim Stafford and Robert Starnes. Jeanette Williams sings this wonderful melody with such simplicity and clarity in her vocal style that anything more than a single guitar playing behind her would have been a distraction. Not that it couldn’t have been here, considering Rice is providing the guitar support. But as you’d expect from a professional of Rice’s stature, it’s exactly right.

“Either Way, I’m Going Home” isn’t the only song on Thank You for Caring that can put the listener in a reflective mood. “Break the Chain,” another Stafford co-written gem, is about child abuse. The title cut, penned by Dixie and Tom T. Hall, was inspired by a little girl Dixie Hall encountered while gathering items to send to victims of Hurricane Katrina. “Through the Eyes of a Child,” written by Williams’ brother, John Finney, gives the message that beauty surrounds all of us. We simply need to open our eyes.

Not every track here is meant to put the listener into deep thought. It has a great cover of Skip Ewing’s very first country hit (in 1988), “Your Memory Wins Again,” and just an outrageously great bluegrass arrangement of disco queen Donna Summer’s “I Will Survive.” Yeah, it’s the same song that you’re probably thinking it is. Listen to this version and try not to smile. I dare you. I haven’t seen Williams’ live shows for quite a spell, but she mentions in the liner notes that “I Will Survive” has been her show-closer for quite some time, so she thought it only appropriate to close her CD with it.

It’s also worth mentioning that because of the inspiration for the title cut, a portion of the CD’s profits have been earmarked for the American Red Cross to provide relief efforts in disaster areas.

I can’t imagine any fan of bluegrass and acoustic music, or simply a fan of any music that’s done well, not thoroughly enjoying Thank You For Caring. To Jeanette Williams, I say, thank for you such a beautiful CD.