I own every original album Carrie has released and this is by and far (in my opinion) her best one. Every single song on this album is a revelation in itself and the overall collection is one of the best folk albums I've heard. Carrie has an amazing voice and she has written some of the most intelligent and intriguing songs of any artist I've heard.

I loved every song on this CD. They really spoke to me including Gathering of Spirits, Holy is the Day and all the others. I am a middleaged mom with mostly grown children and the songs seemed to be about many of things that are part of my life.

I had to play this CD over several times when I first got it, because I needed to be sure of what I had heard. These songs resonated deeply in me immediately. "Holy As a Day Is Spent" and "I Heard an Owl" are arresting songs, powerful in their connections. I remain astounded by how close to my feelings Carrie Newcomer's songs are; it's wonderful to hear my contemplative times articulated so harmoniously.

...better bail before the first verse is done. Otherwise you're just going to have to learn to love that graceful/gutsy alto.

Her lyrics will have you. They're literate, bittersweet, deep. She's been places and figured out a few things. Better yet, you'll get the feeling she'd rather discuss them with you than just tell you about them. You'll want more of them.

Don't worry, just kidding - you'll like the voice a lot!

Carrie Newcomer is a poet illuminating the darkness. Her words work as well bare on the page as they do set to music. Novelist Barbara Kingsolver is a fan. But Newcomer also possesses one of the most stunning voices in folk, an enchanting alto somewhere between Mary Chapin Carpenter and Christine McVie. With "The Gathering of Spirits," (Philo) her latest, she has released a superb followup to "The Age of Possibility," her infectious 2000 offering.

While she acknowledges the darkness, she looks for the simple pleasures, even in the toughest of times. On the album's title cut, a duet with Alison Krauss, she notes, "life's a twinkling, that's for certain. But it's such a fine thing."

On her 9/11 offering, "I Heard an Owl," she assures that she still believes, but also points a finger. "Don't tell me hate is ever right or God's will," she sings. "These are the wheels we put in motion ourselves."

Typically, Newcomer venerates the details of life; she finds beauty and grace there. The music is varied, never settling on a predictable foundation. "Holy as the Day is Spent" and the touching, "I'll Go Too" are acoustic meditations. "Straight to the Point" and the defiant "I'm Still Standing" are pop rockers with country touches that easily could fit on a Mary Chapin disc. She even has a little fun with "Silver:" "Will you love me if I babble, let me win sometimes at Scrabble?"

Newcomer takes such small moments and explores the surface beneath with unusual grace and insight. That makes "The Gathering of Spirits" one of the best releases to come along this year.