BETT PADGETT – “My Shooting Star” CD ’09 (Ceilidhe, US) – I’ve got to say, right from the beginning, that it takes some serious gusto to open a CD of otherwise original music with a cover of an iconic piece like “Zip Ah Dee Do Dah.” Yes, that one. The 1945 classic from Disney’s “Song Of The South.” Here are some of the people who recorded versions of this song previously: Connie Francis, Doris Day, The Hollies, Louis Armstrong, The Dave Clark Five, The Jackson 5, …. You get the idea. That all being said, it’s without the least bit of hesitation that I find this 2009 version by North Carolina’s BETT PADGETT to be one of the most vibrant & infectious readings I’ve ever heard. When she gets to the “ev’rything is satisfactual” part, only a dead man would not be singing along. And yet, I’m not surprised one bit. Having been a huge fan of BETT’s folk music over a course of several albums before this one, I’m here to tell you something: this lady is confidence, honesty and pure emotion personified. And we’re not even talking about the fact that she plays a mean acoustic guitar, has a riveting voice and can spin a helluva yarn all the while. You don’t have to go far into this disc to hear what I’m talking about. Right on the heels of “Zip…” is “When The Sky Comes Out” and we’re talking about a vocal presence that’s right up there with Joni Mitchell on “Blue.” But “My Shooting Star” is hardly front-loaded…it’s purely LOADED, from pillar to post, with one fantastic songsmith nugget after another. It’s stripped-down music, no doubt, again mostly just vocals and guitar, sometimes accompanied by Dave Groening’s percussion and the honesty is palpable and vibrant. I love the emotional detail in numbers like “The Mailbox On Bird Island,” the rich storytelling in of “The Pirates Came To Bald Head” and the lush romanticism of “The Memory Of Your Love (Song For Isabella).” Still, nothing quite nails me to the wall like the 1 ½ minutes of acapella piece “Listen.” Such a voice, such feeling, such power. Stunning stuff. A Super Nova

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