Pete Krebs Sweet Ona Rose

For Sweet Ona Rose, Pete Krebs enlisted fellow Northwest musicians including John Moen (Decemberists, Black Prairie, Offa Rex, Dharma Bums) Ben Shepherd (Soundgarden, Mark Lanegan), Paul Brainard (Richmond Fontaine, M. Ward) and Mike Danner (Gill Landry, Richmond Fontaine). Krebs' strength has always been his songwriting; Sweet Ona Rose is a showcase for his lyricism and a keen sense of melody. The surprise here is Krebs' pure pop prowess, deftly displayed on ''Johnny Come Lately'', ''Quickly Steal Away''; and ''Analog'', all of which echo the wit and catchy hooks of Elvis Costello. ''Krebs has patiently developed his songwriting skills over the years and honed his own roots-rock to create his most fully realized album to date'' - No Depression In what was one of the best, though unjustly overlooked, albums of 1999, Pete Krebs delivers his most varied and accessible album to date. Working with an excellent backing band Krebs crafted some of the sharpest pop hooks he's ever written. From the punchy horn arrangements on the opening track ''Johnny Come Lately'' to the Old 97s mixed with the Beatles rock of ''Quickly Steals Away,'' this is an extremely satisfying album. Most impressive of all might be the excellent ''Ashes Back to Vegas,'' which sounds as if it could be a lost Flying Burrito Brothers track. To be sure, the ghost of Gram Parsons can be heard on more than one track here, most noticeably on the steel guitar-drenched ''Take Me Away.'' What makes Krebs seem even more genius is the way he can take the Parsons sound and cross-pollinate it with Elvis Costello-like arrangements and energy, making this one of the truly great country-rock albums in recent memory. At other times, Krebs seems to be channeling the collective spirit of the Replacements, as on ''Hey Mr. Smalltown.'' ''This is the sound of an artist fully realizing his potential, and considering all the elements at work here, it's highly recommended listening.'' - Matt Fink