Sarah Pierce, Birdman (Little Bear Records 2000) - Sarah Pierce is a singer's singer - a country chanteuse transported to Austin, Texas. Birdman showcases her vocal skills on a labor of love.

Birdman is Sarah's third CD following, West Texas Wind (1991) and No Place Like Home (1995). Sarah's big break came when she was seen by John McEuen (longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and asked to be his opening act. This springboard lead Sarah to thousands of miles on the road and a sure sense of her abilities.

Sarah's band includes Merel Bregante on drums and percussion, Chris Maresh on bass, Kenny Grimes on electric guitar, and Riley Osborn on keyboards. Sarah provides vocals an acoustic guitar.

While Birdman has a nod toward country on the sprightly title track, much of the album heads toward slower contemporary pop, on such tracks as "Ordinary Day" and the smokey, Eleni Mandell-influenced, "Anything Goes."

Confesses the Texas-based singer, "My music is far different from the music with which I was raised. I truly respect and love traditional country music. It is held in a most special place in my heart. However, what comes out of me as a writer is much more toward contemporary pop. That's where I am supposed to be."

Yet don't think this daughter of a cowboy (four members of her family are in the Cattlemen's Hall of Fame) has abandoned her country roots - "Coffee Shop" is a four-minute honky-tonk jammer.

Pierce also made sure she had a career to fall back on in case music didn't work out: She holds a Master's Degree in Medical Science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

The album concludes with a subdued cover of "What a Wonderful World" that brings to mind the late Eva Cassiday's reading of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Birdman is a handmade gem, comparable to Joyce Harrison on Nashville: Off the Record.

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