If you know Linda Ronstadt's version of "Heart Like a Wheel", you are duty-bound to seek out the source. These Canadian sister songwriters' original version-the highlight of their self-titled debut-has a fragile elegance that, over the course of three minutes, will break, mend and break your heart again. But the pain in McGarrigle's quiet songs-piano, banjo and guitar provide much of the accompaniment-is always sweet. Their double and triple harmonies are the sound of dreams and their lyrical sensibility is as timeless and effortless as that of a Carter Family song. -Roy Kasten Against a mid-'70s backdrop of conventional pop and rock singer/songwriters, Quebec's Kate and Anna McGarrigle offered a seductive alternative in their smart, mercurial songs and alternately tart and sweet vocals. Folk musicians at heart, they filtered French Canadian ballads and waltzes, American ragtime, and contemporary pop confessions through their lyrical, always articulate style. This stunning debut album remains a wonderful primer: Kate's the comparative modernist, playing sturdy piano and offering sly snapshots of desire ("Kiss and Say Goodbye") and romantic ambivalence ("Talk to Me of Mendocino"), while Anna follows a more traditional arc, from the sound of her button accordion to the graceful, heartbreaking similes of "Heart Like a Wheel," a hit for Linda Ronstadt, that's given a lovely acoustic reading here. Both individually and together, their voices are at once unvarnished and beautiful, earthy and ethereal, boasting a genetic empathy that's emotionally modern and musically timeless. Joe Boyd, who co-produced with Greg Prestopino, has rated this set alongside his most hallowed projects with Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and other folk-rock legends. Boyd's right. [+]

Christmas wasn't always the easiest time of year when Merle Haggard was growing up in Oklahoma. Money was tight and the elements were harsh, but faith helped the family get through. That's exactly the sense the country legend puts across on this holiday collection. Hard times are chronicled on songs like "Daddy Won't Be Home for Christmas" and "If We Make it Through December," but joy is found when the smallest of pleasures ("Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card") saves the day. -David Sprague.

No Fences captures Garth Brooks just after his initial success yet before superstardom. Though it includes "The Thunder Rolls", another of the pop country power ballads he'd introduced with "The Dance", No Fences bounces mainly between impersonations-often catchy and engaging ones, but impersonations nonetheless. "Wild Horses" is straight-up George Strait, while "Two of A Kind" and "Friends in Low Places" are John Anderson and Hank Jr. respectively. The best moment, the Dan Fogleberg-like "Unanswered Prayers", relays a message either highly spiritual or a hugely rationalized. Regardless, it succeeds because its delivery is earnest, sweet and humble-something Garth wouldn't be for long. -David Cantwell.

The Ghost Of Fashion, Clem Snide's third album, finds the New Jersey band once again crafting a morose, plaintive strain of alt. country not a million miles from Palace or Smog. Singer/ songwriter Eef Barzelay knows his way around a mournful melody and a heart-tugging lyric, and "Long Lost Twin" and "Chinese Baby" both smoulder with bitter, barely restrained yearning. Clem Snide are lifted above other such compulsive melancholics, however, by a sly and subversive humour, and the self-knowing "Don't Be Afraid Of Your Anger" is a veritable riot of chuckles. A strong album, then, fr om an astute and under-celebrated band who are well worth investigating. -Ian Gittins.