Full Light Records

If Garth Brooks were to make a predominantly acoustic album, it would probably sound a lot like Darrell Scott's "The Invisible Man." Concerned mostly with spirituality and everyday struggles, Scott has created a collection of anthems that straddle the line between country, contemporary bluegrass, pop and even rock.
 
The opening "Hank Williams' Ghost" is a down-home paean to overcoming hard times, while "Shattered Cross" is a haunting pedal steel and mandolin ballad about life lessons learned. The middle portion of the album' "I'm Nobody," "And the River is Me"' is unfortunately less compelling, with Scott abandoning his strong vocal inflections in favor of spoken word. The rest of the album, however, finds Scott back in top form with the pseudo-Cajun waltz "The Dreamer" and the closing "In My Final Hour," a pop-rocker that finds Scott pondering his own salvation. For the most part, "The Invisible Man" is a delightful, if uneven, listen for those who desire music that digs deeper than mainstream country radio.
 
- Tracy M. Rogers