Women of Country - The Internet's #1 Guide to Female Country Music

Album Review

Matraca Berg - Lying To The Moon & Other Stories
RCA Records

Matraca Berg is easily one of the most critically acclaimed songwriters in all of Nashville. She has penned hits for some of the biggest stars in the industry. However her career as a singer hasn’t taken off as well as one would expect. Berg’s career started with two albums on RCA records before a one-album stint on the now closed Rising Tide Records. Berg’s career was starting to look very bleak but fortunately RCA felt her first release Lying To The Moon deserved to be given a second shot. The end result is a repackaging of her debut album with songs from her Rising Tide release Sunday Morning To Saturday Night and an unreleased tune. If you’re not familiar with Matraca Berg and her music than there has never been a better time to get acquainted with this talented artist.

People familiar with Matraca’s work might not find enough here to make it worth the cover price. All the tracks from Lying To The Moon are included except for “You Are The Storm”. It also contains three cuts from Sunday Morning To Saturday Night. They are “Back In The Saddle”, “Back When You Were Beautiful”, and “Along For The Ride”. The unreleased song is Matraca’s version of “Eat At Joe’s” which was also recorded by Suzy Bogguss but was penned by Berg. It’s one of the few Berg songs that I would say was covered better by another artist than by Matraca herself. So if you own all of her other work you’re really only getting one new track here. Not really worth the price of a full album.

However, for people who don’t own any Matraca Berg music run out and get this album as quickly as possible. All of Berg’s other music is currently out of print so this is your only chance to hear this stunning work. The eerie ballad “Back When We Were Beautiful” will leave you completely stunned. While songs like “Back In The Saddle”, “Baby, Walk On”, “The Things You Left Undone”, and “Along For The Ride” will have you singing along.

There is no doubting Matraca Berg’s writing talent. She’s an incredibly powerful storyteller who’s songs tend to resemble glistening photographs. A perfectly capture image of a moment in time. The bottom line is you can’t go wrong with any Matraca Berg record. If you see any of her other three releases, grab them quickly. They are must have releases for anyone who considers themselves a country music fan.

Lying To The Moon and Other Stories is a solid collection of music from an artist who deserves to be heard. Let’s hope that this won’t be the last we hear from Matraca Berg. When the final notes run off this album you can’t help but feel like you heard something extremely special. And any time an album has that kind of effect on the listener, you know the artist is doing something right.

Album Review by Jeff Krasky

The WOC Rating Scale

The album stands above the rest. This is a record that every country music fan needs to have in their collection.

This album is better than the average release. A strong record with some flaws that keep it from reaching that 5 star level.

This album is an average country release. Doesn't posses qualities that make it stand out among all the other albums out there.

A weak record that lacks solid songs or good vocal performances. Sample before you buy.

This record is a bargin-bin reject that just isn't worth the time or the money. Completely misses the mark.