Gus Hardin
Gus is a good ole gal—that's right; her real name is Carolyn Ann—with a past. Seven husbands' worth of past in fact. The plaintive rough edges in her vocal style may be a result of that experience. Wherever they come from, they give Gus' best singing the emotional power of a Loretta Lynn. This solo album, her second, also includes one of those classic country music lines: "Gonna burn all my bridges/ one old flame at a time," from the title song by Walt Aldridge, Billy Henderson and Billy Maddox. The Aldridge-Tom Brasfield song Not Tonight, I've Got a Heartache doesn't do badly in the cleverness department either. Hardin puts some nice turns into a ballad, Still Hold On, which was written by a pop team—Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Wendy Waldman and Eric Kaz—but comes off as a torchy country lament. If Hardin can sound a bit on the tough side, she can dredge up an occasional tear too. (RCA)
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