Texas
They hail from Glasgow, they don't sing about beer, Mama or pickup trucks, and their guitars don't twang. Still, the name fits. Their hot dusty blues blow past you like tumbleweeds.
Mothers Heaven improves upon Texas' engaging, relatively low-key 1989 debut. They turn the rock and roll flame higher here, but most of the disc carries on the breezy slide-guitar tradition of guys like Ry Cooder.
What makes Texas special is the singing of Sharleen Spiteri. She sounds a lot like the fine and former Lone Justice vocalist, Maria McKee, who in fact backs up Spiteri on two songs here. On a song like the gospelized "Alone with You," Spiteri moves easily from a prairie-dust roughness to a slippery sexiness.
This is real Uhmurrican music. Funny how it takes a group of furriners to do it so well. (Mercury)
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