SARA PETITE: HerStory: Snakes, Wolves and Honky Tonk Angels

“Jealous Heart” may be the best song Sara Petite has turned out yet: Killer hook, rocking arrangement anchored by John Jorgenson’s biting guitar, and her patented nasal twang on vocals.

But that voice is no gimmick, as her unique tonality is partnered with as solid a feel for timing as any jazz or blues singer ever displayed. She continues to grow as singer, with a tight discipline, enunciation clear enough to rival Ella Fitzgerald or Karen Carpenter, and a feel for the song that is always spot on.

“Wasted” picks up where “Jealous Heart” leaves off—another raucous musical romp, equal parts rock ‘n’ roll and country. Jorgenson (Desert Rose Band, the Hellecasters) provides the perfect fills on electric guitar.

But the mood and pace veer radically on “I Hate Snakes,” a slow, meandering swamper, co-written with producer Josquin Des Prés. “She Runs with the Wolves” continues this subdued mood before “Honky Tonk Angel” slows things down even more into nearly a dirge—albeit one anchored by a stunningly gorgeous melody.

“Cold Heart” is another prototypical Sara Petite song—clever lyrics, great chorus. But it’s in the same basic groove as the three previous tracks.

In fact, it’s not until the eighth song, “The Misfits,” that the band fires back up to the rousing pace of the two opening tracks.

The album then closes out with a new song by Josquin Des Prés, Bernie Taupin, and Mark Paladino, “In the Names of Dark Angels.” Petite caresses the lyrics atop a gentle instrumental backing, her haunting vocal underpinned by John Jorgenson’s tender acoustic guitar and Bobby Furgo’s violin.

It is every bit as much a Sara Petite song as the rest of the album, all of which she wrote or co-wrote. There is no world in which this song isn’t a staple of her live shows for the rest of her career.

But that’s also true of “Jealous Heart” and “Waysted.” It’s impossible to imagine her fans ever accepting a show that doesn’t include all three of these new songs moving forward.

They are all simply magic.