While she certainly has the vocal chops to record a singer's album, what impresses most about Pretty Little Stranger is the song selection and how Osborne and producer Steve Buckingham eschew flashy vocal runs and production gimmicks that would draw attention away from those songs.   Full text...

Osborne might not tear up the country charts, but she shouldn’t lose the Nashville numbers in her Rolodex, either.   Full text...

Osborne's latest outing Pretty Little Stranger renders pretty country melodies gilded with the sleekness of her vocals. Many of the tunes are similar in scope to Jewel, Blaine Larson, and Julie Roberts, as Osborne concentrates on one type of vocal melody and country sound, but it certainly lands her in country music's stable. Maybe now her sails have recaptured a bit of that wind she lost.  Full text...

Stranger is being touted as Osborne’s “country” album, which is fair enough; it does feature, after all, such notable Nashville heavyweights as Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, and Alison Krauss. This description is really only a nominal one, however. Pedal steel aside, this album is more of the same soggy mid-tempo fare she’s always favored.  Full text...