Walking Among the Living  (Audio CD) 
by Jon Randall

After his success as the cowriter of Brad Paisley's "Whiskey Lullaby," Jon Randall gets ample opportunity on Walking Among the Living to showcase himself as a multidimensional artist. His tenor vocals are the most luminous in country this side of Vince Gill, while his guitar virtuosity earlier earned him a slot in Emmylou Harris's band (where Gill also served a stint). Yet Randall's major strength is his songwriting, where he displays a range that extends from the lovesick balladry of "Baby Won't You Come Home" to the poppier, Eagles-like melody of "Long Way Down" to the harder rock edge of "Coming Back for More." On the jauntier, playful "Austin," he sounds like Lyle Lovett fronting Little Feat. Patty Loveless joins him for harmonies on "I Shouldn't Do This," while Alison Krauss (who duetted with Paisley on "Whiskey Lullaby") does the same on "My Southern Comfort." As the album's centerpiece, Randall's rearrangement of "Whiskey Lullaby" puts his haunting, intimate vocal over a backing of chamber strings. --Don McLeese