***Elizabeth Mitchell***

You know you're doin' somethin' right when Smithsonian Folkways comes a-knockin'. And I'm pretty sure this label is well aware they have the next Ella Jenkins on their hands.

Anyone who is familiar with Elizabeth Mitchell's work wouldn't expect anything less than brilliance on her newest CD, You Are My Little Bird, and she certainly delivers. Your hipster buddies will perk up their ears when they hear covers of the Velvet Underground, Bob Marley, and Neil Young, and find out that John Sebastian helped out a little bit musically. My only complaint is that the CD comes with such thorough liner notes, it took some of the fun out of researching the song sources! So instead of having to read my boring descriptions, just play the CD and dig her minimalist version of "Three Little Birds", the a cappella "Little Liza Jane" and "Grassy Grass Grass", the acoustic rock and roll of "What Goes On", and her beautifully ethereal "If You Listen", a song originally recorded by Francoise Hardy and written by a pre-Foreigner Mick Jones (!).

Having become as adept as the aforementioned Ms. Jenkins at song collecting and interpretation, Elizabeth Mitchell is certainly in a position to become one of America's great music voices. This album is the aural equivalent of gauzy curtains billowing in the summer breeze, so, put it on, enjoy the vibe, and be happy about the fact that together you and your kids can listen to wonderfully performed music penned by writers as disparate as Woody Guthrie, Lou Reed, and Vashti Bunyan. Beautiful, beautiful stuff.