Matt Robinson of Musicdish.com and Jazzusa.com put it this way, "Recalling everyone from Joni Mitchell to Barbara Streisand to Dusty Springfield to friend and harmonizer Cassandra Wilson, Welsh singer/songwriter Judith Owen is still able to have a voice of her own."

At least I'm in good company, right? 

Now, what about the other songs on Happy This Way you might ask?  They are as varied and primo as the qualifiers heaped on Ms. Owen by her many music devotees.

The opening track, "Conway Bay" is a celtic tip 'o the tam to the music and land that mark her heritage, lilting and moving.  Up next is "Painting By Numbers", is one of my favorite type of pop song with a toe-tapping beat and dark/introspective lyrics that counterpoint Richard Thompson's electric guitar.  I personally gotta love a song that says "I can find comfort in madness/He's like an old friend".  Get outta my head, Judith!

Other artists, as varied as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, The Cure's own Robert Smith, Paul Weller (formerly of The Jam), Lucinda Williams and Badly Drawn Boy, have listed the late Nick Drake as being influential.  Add Judith Owen to that list with her aptly titled "Nicholas Drake" that touches on his life and all-too-early demise at his own hand.  But it's not some dirge that depresses.  It's a spritely folk tune again with Richard Thompson adding his own bits, this time on acoustic guitar and background vocals.

I could go on and give you my take on the rest of the songs (which I dig for their musical diversity as well as subject matter) on Happy This Way, but that's a total of thirteen songs.  If I haven't convinced you by now that you owe it to yourself to give this music a listen and that it will make a fine gift for Father's Day, I don't know what will.

OH.  You don't have to take my word for it.  You can check out Judith's music online for yourself.  There are plenty of opportunities, aside from the usual music downloading sites.

Her MySpace profile currently has four tracks you can listen to, "My Father's Voice", "Painting By Numbers", "Cool Life" and bonus track "Enough".  The Judith Owen website (currently being updated) regularly features video and MP3 tracks.  If you click on the listen button, you can check out a wide variety of her past work including her hot and bluesy/jazzy version of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water".  Also on site you'll find the up-to-the-date tour schedule for Judith around the U.S. and U.K.

But wait..there's more!  Chatsite Paltalk will be live on June 22nd, as they broadcast Judith's upcoming show (on that same date) from the world-famous McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California.  ATT's Blueroom gives you a chance to win an iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with her new release. 

Judith Owen, singer/songwriter/pianist/label head-honcho (Courgette Records, a Warner Bros. distributed indie label in partnership with hubby Harry Shearer and manager Bambi Moe') is a woman on the move...up.  And Happy This Way.