Connie Converse was a singer/songwriter before that was a genre or even a common career goal. While a small handful of people were deeply impressed by the songs she wrote and performed in the early 1950s, pop music simply wasn't ready for an artist as smart, bold, imaginative, and risk-taking as her. How Sad, How Lovely was culled from home-recorded sessions and performances at parties, and the expressive literacy of her songs and the sly confidence of her delivery is thrilling, while also raising the question of what could have happened if she'd appeared ten years later. - Mark Deming