Spinning Heartfelt Tales

GILLIAN WELCH

“Revival”

Almo Sounds

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You’ve got to be awfully good or unusually confident to record a song that has already been committed to disc by Emmylou Harris, even if you wrote the song. So, you know right away that Welch is as fearless as she is talented when you hear this 28-year-old open her debut album with “Orphan Girl,” which first appeared last year on Harris’ “Wrecking Ball” collection.

On the song and the best of her other tales of search and salvation, Welch exhibits a convincing vocal spirit reminiscent of Harris and Alison Krauss, and a touch for rural country tradition as a songwriter that recalls Dolly Parton back in the days when Parton was writing such gems as “Coat of Many Colors” and “To Daddy.”

Working with songwriting partner David Rawlings and producer T Bone Burnett, Welch, a Southern California native who now lives in Nashville, combines echoes of bluegrass musical purity with lyrics about troubled lives that carry the grainy authenticity of old black-and-white Dust Bowl photos.

In “Annabelle,” she sings about a mother whose only comfort is faith after losing her daughter: We cannot have all things to please us / No matter how we try / Until we’ve all gone to Jesus / We can only wonder why.

Elsewhere, Welch moves from “Paper Wings,” an ode to the smoldering pop-country style of Patsy Cline, to the rock-accented tension of “Tear My Stillhouse Down.” At every turn, she demonstrates a spark and commitment that should endear her to anyone, from country and folk to adult pop and rock fan, who appreciates imagination and heart.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).