Old Enough

by Stewart MasonThe debut album by Austin-based blues-rock singer Lou Ann Barton didn't sound like many major-label releases of 1982. Produced by Atlantic Records veteran Jerry Wexler (with, worryingly, some help from ex-Eagles schlockmeister Glenn Frey) and recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Old Enough is a solid piece of soulful Texas-style blues-rock. Barton reveals herself to be an exceptional singer, sassy and sly but with a welcome tendency toward restraint. (Many singers in this style try too hard to prove their soulfulness and end up sounding ridiculous.) She's also got a keen eye for songs, investing the old standard "Finger Poppin' Time" with enough relish to make it sound fresh and turning Marshall Crenshaw's rockabilly-tinged "Brand New Lover" into a full-on Wanda Jackson-style barnburner. There are a few missteps, like the too-slick-by-half radio-friendly ballad "It's Raining," but overall, Old Enough is an unpretentious, timeless-sounding set. It all but disappeared upon its 1982 release and remained out of print until the Austin blues label Antone reissued it on CD in 1997.