It's All in Your Head

The debut Craig Collins' CD, It's All In Your Head, is a young country offering with a noticeable thread of the traditional. Three elements work together to make this freshman effort particularly solid: instrumental, vocal and songwriting. The latter, of course, is the foundation for any album's success. Collins takes writing credit for eight of the ten cuts; one exception being the emotional but slightly over-dramatized "Is It Raining At Your House" (a Vern Gosdin signature). Unlike a large number of self-written debuts, the material reflects maturity in songcrafting. Collins is backed by his producer, members of his High Lonesome Band, and various other musicians: all are wonderful artists. The weakest link in the album is Collins' sometimes strained vocals. The singer is incredibly talented, but he tends to over emphasize the emotions of the song with distracting vocal quirks, such as in "His Story." A touch of Sawyer Brown's Mark Miller can be heard in Collins' renderings. On other cuts like, "My Turn," the vocals are natural and finely piqued. The big picture of this album is a snapshot of potential. The artist has already mastered many of the keys of music-making, and debuts with a package marked by a variety of material, emotion, and improved polish.