Her television show is called The Edge of Country, and she practices what she preaches.

Love, Lessons & Lies, the new CD by GAC’s Kylie Harris, is a splendidly left-field listening experience. It is not only produced with imagination, it is filled with excellently written tunes. A tip of the cap and a Disc of the Day salute.

We have a number of newcomers on hand today. My pick to click is Jack County a.k.a. Dallas singer-songwriter Jackson Doyle. By whichever name, he/it gets the DisCovery Award.

SEAN PATRICK McGRAW/Dollar Ain’t Worth A Dime
Writer: Sean Patrick McGraw/David Kroll; Producer: Sean Patrick McGraw; Publisher: Seananigan/Smokin’ Grapes, ASCAP/BMI; Little Engine
-It kicks off with big, mean, dooom-y electric guitars, then he comes in with his tales of economic woe. The gist of it is that it is easy to turn to a life of crime when your back is against the wall. Very “outlaw” sounding.

JASON ALDEAN/Big Green Tractor
Writer: Jim Collins/David Lee Murphy; Producer: Michael Knox; Publisher: Sexy Tractor/Big Loud Bucks/Hope-N-Cal/Cal IV/Old Desperados/N2D/Carol Vincent, BMI/ASCAP; Broken Bow (track)
-Sweetly romantic, with a gently rolling groove and a surprisingly intimate vocal. A nice change of pace.

JACK COUNTY/Lonesome Radio
Writer: Jackson Doyle; Producer: Jackson Doyle & Jon Skaggs; Publisher: none listed; Jack County Music (track) (www.jacksoncountymusic.com)
-She’s gone, so he drives at night from town to town, “with the lonesome radio on.” Plain spoken, yet highly evocative. If nothing else, he shows fine songwriting promise, as this is the title tune of an entirely self-composed, 10-tune collection.

RASCAL FLATTS/Summer Nights
Writer: Gary LeVox/Brett James/Busbee; Producer: Dann Huff & Rascal Flatts; Publisher: Sony-ATV Cross Keys/Stage Three/Brett James Cornelius/Crosstown Uptown/Kobalt, ASCAP; Lyric Street
-It kinda sounds like it was written to be an in-concert rabble rouser. The whistles and cheers in the track add to the energetic atmosphere.

COOPER BOONE/She’s All That
Writer: Mark Houser/Mark D. Conklin/Cooper Boone; Producer: Mark D. Conklin; Publisher: none listed; Cooper Boone (track) (www.cooperboone.com)
-Mama is breaking out tonight. The hooky chorus is the best thing about it.

CHARLIE ROBISON/Reconsider
Writer: Keith Gattis/Charles Brocco; Producer: Charlie Robison; Publisher: Gattis/Glass Rose, BMI; Dualtone
-Beautiful Day, out next month, is Charlie’s “divorce” album. Its first single is appropriately remorseful and regretful. It’s really sad, but really, really lovely.

THE GRINGO KINGS/Hold You In My Arms
Writer: Scott Burgess; Producer: Scott Burgess, Tim Burge & Tim Phelan; Publisher: Scott Burgess, BMI; Burgess (www.thegringokings.com)
-I love their name, but they’re hopelessly amateur sounding.

GEOFF UNION/Big Sky Tonight
Writer: G. Union; Producer: Geoff Union; Publisher: Shining Castle, ASCAP; Shining Castle (track) (www.geoffunion.com)
-The title tune to this Texan’s CD is painful. The vocal harmonies are out of key. The band members sound like they just picked up their instruments last week, and they aren’t listening to each other in any case. The lead vocal is a pitch disaster.

KYLIE HARRIS & PATTY LOVELESS/Love’s Back Hand
Writer: Marco Giovino/Kyle Harris; Producer: Marco Giovino; Publisher: Rabid Gator/Kylie Harris, ASCAP/APRA; Fuzzy Feet (track) (www.kylieharris.com)
-Perhaps best known to U.S. audiences as a TV host on GAC, in her native New Zealand Kylie wins major awards for her music. Her second American CD features this rolling, melodic, mid-tempo meditation with a scintillating harmony from Patty. Will Barrow’s accordion backup work is stellar. Listenable in the extreme. The whole album is a sonic delight, with lots of refreshingly different audio textures. Check out the rumbling, shuddering guitar on “Down to the Ground” the heartbeat rhythm of “Drive” the sighing slide on “Now and Then” the clarinet (!) on “Waltz Me Til Dawn” and the dreamy organ on “Sundown.”

BILL RHOADS/Too Many California Memories
Writer: Bill Rhoads; Producer: Mark Burchfield, Bill & Rose Rhoads; Publisher: Bill Rhoads, BMI; Bill Rhoads (track) (www.billrhoadsmusic.com)
-Well written, in a classic-country sort of way. His vocal isn’t the strongest, but the instrumental work is so gorgeous it more than makes up for whatever he lacks. The rippling, gut-string guitar picking, alone, is worth the price of admission.

You’d think everyone else would turn tail and flee the field.

With a new Bob Dylan album in the Americana music mix, everyone else should pack it in, right? Well, Dylan may have the Disc of the Day, but the current collections by Buddy & Julie Miller, Eric Brace & Peter Cooper and Jesse Winchester are all so winning that you’ll want to hear them in your speakers repeatedly, too.

I am in total agreement with the AMA that The Belleville Outfit is a contender for Emerging Artist of the Year. The group wins this column’s DisCovery Award.

THE BELLEVILLE OUTFIT/Time To Stand
Writer: none listed; Producer: Bil Vorndick & The Belleville Outfit; Publisher: none listed; Belleville Outfit (track) (www.bellevilleoutfit.com)
-This band dazzled me when it played before the BMI banquet last fall. Now The Belleville Outfit’s blend of pop, folk, string band and jazz elements has been captured on disc. This title tune to the record is a sprightly bopper sprinkled with fiddle, piano and electric guitar notes that make you smile. These kids are the BOMB.

JESSE WINCHESTER/O What A Thrill
Writer: Jesse Winchester; Producer: Bil Vorndick & Jesse Winchester; Publisher: Bug, ASCAP; Appleseed (track) (www.jessewinchester.com)
-What took so long? Love Filling Station is Jesse’s first studio album in 10 years. Whatever the reasons for his absence, the fact is that he remains a major, major talent. From the opening notes of this first track, he captivated me anew. The tune was originally popularized by The Mavericks back in 1994. In addition to nine originals, the collection includes lovely covers of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” Freddie Hart’s “Loose Talk” (as a duet with Claire Lynch) and the gospel tune “Far Side Bank of Jordan.” Throughout the CD, Jesse is backed by a stellar Nashville crew including Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Andy Leftwich. If you are unfamiliar with this man’s sound, prepare to fall in love.

STEVE EARLE & JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE/Mr. Mudd And Mr. Gold
Writer: none listed; Producer: Steve Earle; Publisher: none listed; New West (track) (www.steveearle.com)
-Steve’s tribute album to his friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt is titled simply Townes. How perfect is it that his son, partly named after the late singer-songwriter, joins him to duet on this title? Tom Morello (“Lungs”) and Steve’s wife Alison Moorer (“To Live Is to Fly”) also put in appearances on this sterling, homemade folk-music collection.

JACK WESLEY ROUTH/Another Season
Writer: Jack Wesley Routh/Randy Sharp; Producer: Randy Sharp & Jack Wesley Routh; Publisher: Ten-Cal/With Any Luck; Ninnessean (track) (www.jackwesleyrouth.com)
-This laconic ballad is the title tune and lead-off track to this singer-songwriter’s new CD. Some of you might recognize Routh’s “Shores of White Sands” (as recorded by Karen Brooks) or “The Connection” (Emmylou Harris). His own dusty, stark, spare versions of those songs are here, as are a pair of things he co-wrote with his former father-in-law, Johnny Cash-“Field of Diamonds” and the previously unrecorded “When the Trains Come Back.”

BOB DYLAN/Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
Writer: Bob Dylan/Robert Hunter; Producer: Jack Frost; Publisher: none listed; Columbia (track) (www.bobdylan.com)
-Yes, the songs on Dylan’s new Together Through Life are terrific. But what’s equally important is the extraordinary ensemble sound he conjures up on the disc. A dash of trumpet here, a dose of Tex-Mex accordion there and a rumbling rhythm section underscore his black-humor, lowered-down vocals. It’s a heady, addictive mash-up of sonic styles that this master artist pulls off brilliantly. Start with this track, then dive in deeper. For my money, this is by far the best of his late-career collections to date.

BUDDY & JULIE MILLER/Chalk
Writer: Julie Miller; Producer: Buddy Miller; Publisher: My Blind Driver/29 Cove, BMI; New West (track) (www.buddyandjulie.com)
-Americana’s favorite couple make mighty melody together on Written in Chalk. This track features Buddy’s hillbilly-soulful lead vocal and a heavenly harmony by guest Patty Griffin. The whole package has resulted in five nominations for the Millers for September’s Americana Music Awards-album, song (“Chalk”), duo or group, instrumentalist, and artist of the year.

ERIC BRACE & PETER COOPER/I Know A Bird
Writer: Eric Brace; Producer: Peter Cooper & Eric Brace; Publisher: Dry Digging Tunes, BMI; Red Beet (track) (www.redbeetrecords.com)
–You Don’t Have to Like Them Both is the debut collaboration by these two singer-songwriters. It’s a folk-country outing that kicks off with this tuneful, wistful ditty. Eric’s hearty baritone leads the way with Peter offering soft tenor harmony. Lloyd Green’s legendary steel-guitar prowess is used effectively throughout, and among the guest gunslingers are Richard Bennett, Tim O’Brien, Daniel Tashian, Kenny Vaughan and Tim Carroll. In addition to singing their own tunes, Peter and Eric draw from the works of David Olney, Kevin Gordon, Paul Kennerley, Jim Lauderdale, Kris Kristofferson and Todd Snider. Miss this one at your peril: These two sound great together.

Eric Heatherly

There are 10 records here, but only one really matters.

Eric Heatherly has more talent than any man ought to be allowed. He writes incredibly addictive songs. He sings like an angel and plays guitar like the devil. His rhythmic sense is impeccable. On top of everything else, he’s a superb showman. He also has the completely unchallenged Disc of the Day.

For our DisCovery Award, we cast our eyes northward. Greg

Hanna lives in Nashville now, but he’s originally a farm boy from rural Ontario.

Greg Hanna

JEFF COOK & THE ALLSTAR GOODTIME BAND/Ashes Won’t Burn
Writer: Bert Colwell; Producer: Jeff Cook; Publisher: Friendly Finley, Bert Colwell, BMI; Quest (track) (www.jeffcook-AGB.com)
—Since quitting the road with Alabama, Jeff Cook has been performing what he calls “funtry” with his band. The title tune to their debut album has “beach music” rhythm, horns, R&B guitar, stellar vocal harmonies and a steady pulse. Jeff sings seven of the lead vocals, including a cover of The Beatles’ “I Feel Fine.” Other covers are handled by group members Ronnie Farmer (”Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”), R.K. Brown (”Brick House”), Link Detten (”All Right Now”) and Randall Key (”King Bee”).

TED RUSSELL KAMP/Just A Yesterday Away
Writer: Ted Russell Kamp; Producer: Ted Russell Kamp; Publisher: none listed; PoMo (track) (www.tedrussellkamp.com)
—Kamp is the bass player for Shooter Jennings, but he also makes solo discs. His first, 2007’s Divisadero, was a gem, and the follow-up, Poor Man’s Paradise, is even better. Its single, this track, is a rumbling, rootsy ramble with Chip Davis shadowing Ted’s lead vocal with a tenor harmony throughout.

RODNEY ATKINS/15 Minutes
Writer: Tony Mullins/Jamie Lee Thurston; Producer: Ted Hewitt & Rodney Atkins; Publisher: Almo/Mullintone/EMI Blackwood, ASCAP/BMI; Curb
—“I gave up smoking, women and drinking last night/And it was the worst 15 minutes of my life.” Ya gotta smile at a line like that. The track bops and the steel guitar shimmers. And, for once, a rowdy-crowd sing-along works perfectly.

GREG HANNA/It’s A Man’s Job
Writer: Ashley Gorley/Wade Kirby/Kim Tribble; Producer: Kim Tribble & Greg Hanna; Publisher: Songs of Combustion/Music of Windswept/Steel Wheels/Songs of Category 5/Songs of RPM, ASCAP/BMI/SESAC; Pheromone (www.greghanna.com)
—This guy is apparently already popular in his native Canada. His raucous bid for U.S. acceptance has working-man verses, but in the choruses he shouts that loving you “is a man’s job.” And—guess what?—he doesn’t mind putting in a little overtime to do it.

CLEDUS T. JUDD/Garth Must Be Busy
Writer: Clint Daniels/Michael Heeney/Cledus T. Judd/Christopher Clark; Producer: Cledus T. Judd & Chris Clark; Publisher: Sony-ATV Acuff-Rose, BMI; E1
—Brooks & Dunn put in a prominent appearance on this parody of their well-known hit. It name-checks Garth Brooks tune titles hither and thither.

CLINT MARTIN/West Side Of The Tracks
Writer: Clint Martin; Producer: Tommy Detamore & Clint Martin; Publisher: LinBrooke, ASCAP; Run Wild (www.clintmartinband.com)
—The track is as country as dirt, but his singing is as bland as water.

THE TRACTORS/Up Jumped The Boogie
Writer: Steve Ripley/Leon Russell; Producer: Steve Ripley; Publisher: Time Standing Still/Young Carney, BMI/ASCAP; Koch (track) (www.kochrecords.com)
—They’re back, and they’re as relentlessly rhythm happy and eccentric as ever. The full CD is called Trade Union.

MARK McKINNEY/Middle America
Writer: Mark McKinney; Producer: Rob Dennis; Publisher: none listed; Super Loud Music (www.markmckinney.com)
—This guy continues his country rocking ways on his latest single. It boasts his strongest blue-collar lyric and hookiest melody to date. Well worth your spins.

ERIC HEATHERLY/Things I Could Do To You
Writer: Eric Heatherly; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Publisher: Psychobilly, ASCAP; Eric Heatherly (track) (www.ericheatherly.com)
—Eric’s new CD is called 2 High 2 Cry. On its single, he once again proves that he’s country’s grooviest guitar slinger. This has it all—a terrific vocal, a killer melody, a heartbeat rhythm and some sizzling guitar solos. If you program just one tune from this week’s stack of platters, by all means make it this one. It’s essential listening.

KATE RUSSELL/Better Days
Writer: Kate Russell; Producer: Kate Russell & Rich Mouser; Publisher: Austramusic, ASCAP; Urunga/Spinville (615-302-0072)
—Her credit cards are maxed out, the bills are piling up, her boyfriend has split. She’s got the blues and has, indeed, “seen better days.” But her potent vocal delivery makes being down-and-out sound just fine.

It’s a left-field kinda day.

Despite the presence of a number of marquee names in this week’s reviewing stack, the award winners are the lesser knowns.

Up-and-comer Holly Williams lands her first Disc of the Day honor. By the way, her excellent last single (”Keep the Change”) was not co-written by her sister, but rather by Hillary Lindsey. The label information was incorrect.

Our DisCovery Award goes not to a major-label artist, but to a lovely Nashville indie lass named Sarah Darling. If you have any doubts that she can deliver live, there’s a clip on her website of her performing “Don’t Love Me” (also on the album) at Puckett’s.

HOLLY WILLIAMS/Mama
Writer: none listed; Producer: Justin Niebank & Holly Williams; Publisher: none listed; Mercury
—Produced with acoustic sparkle, this upbeat ode to mama is also written with deep truth and gifted with a delicious melody. Holly seems to improve in giant steps with each release. I think I’m falling in love.

JEFF GRIFFITH/Dip Me In Beer
Writer: Jeff Griffith/Hobson Smith; Producer: Bill Green; Publisher: none listed, BMI; BGM (888-455-5504)
—He wants to be thrown into “a redneck mosh pit,” whatever that is. Who says nobody makes honky-tonk music anymore? You don’t get any more “honky” than this.

JIMMY WAYNE/I’ll Be That
Writer: Jimmy Wayne/Bob Regan/Kevin Paige; Producer: Mark Bright; Publisher: Grandma Dynamite/Green Hills/Travelers Ridge/Regan/Big Loud Bucks/Universal/Z Songs/K.P.P./B.D.A.J., ASCAP/BMI; Valory Music
—Love the breathless rhythm track and the softly sensuous singing. This fulfilling-fantasies ditty rushes by like a cool, gentle wind in your face.

THE PARKS/As Long As You’re Goin’ My Way
Writer: Johnny Park/Clint Park/Brett Beavers; Producer: Johnny Park & Clint Park; Publisher: WB/Warner-Tamerlane/Sony-ATV Tree/Run the Trotline, ASCAP/BMI; Carolwood
—The production is too “busy” sounding, the vocal is mixed too low in it, and the song doesn’t kick in until they get to the chorus.

DOLLY PARTON/Everyday People
Writer: Sylvester Stewart; Producer: Mike Post; Publisher: none listed; RCA Legacy (track)
—What a gal: Her 9 to 5 musical opens on Broadway, and one week later it is nominated for four Tony Awards! The 1980 movie that inspired it also inspired a Dolly concept album called 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. That LP has now been reissued on CD with three bonus tracks including this previously unissued, sprightly rendition of the Sly and the Family Stone classic. The other two bonuses are a frothing disco remix and a karaoke track of the title tune.

TRACE ADKINS/All I Ask For Anymore
Writer: Casey Beathard/Tim James; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: Sony-ATV Acuff-Rose/Warner Tamerlane/T Bird’s, BMI; Capitol Nashville (track)
—Trace with a string section? You bet. On a stately, inspirational, common-man ballad, no less. I’ve always said this guy is underrated as a vocalist, and this is one of his most expressive performances ever.

NATHAN LEE JACKSON/Small Town Rain
Writer: none listed; Producer: Jeff Glixman; Publisher: none listed; CO5/Star City (615-469-1756)
—Nicely done. The production rocks happily, and his earnest vocal is as comfy as a well-worn shoe. This kid has the goods.

JOHN ANDERSON/Cold Coffee And Hot Beer
Writer: none listed; Producer: James Stroud & John Anderson; Publisher: none listed; Country Crossing (track) (615-750-5938)
—Drawling and bluesy, this totally swings. John is eternally cool. Somebody get the name of that barrelhouse piano player.

CHARLIE ROBISON/Beautiful Day
Writer: Charlie Robison; Producer: Charlie Robison; Publisher: Bantex, BMI; Dualtone (track) (www.dualtone.com)
—The title tune to Charlie’s new CD chronicles one woe after another in sunny L.A. The track is excellent, with dynamite country-rock guitar and snazzy organ riffs. And it goes without saying that his steeped-in-Texas vocal performance is a winner. Most of the collection is self-penned, but there are also a pair of Keith Gattis tunes, a rocking number courtesy of Bobby Bare Jr. and an evocative cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street.”

SARAH DARLING/Jack Of Hearts
Writer: Sarah Darling/Marc Beeson/Don Pfrimmer; Producer: Jimmy Nichols; Publisher: Want a Fresh One/Sarah Darling/Crossfire 3/Wounded Sky/EGBE, ASCAP; Black River (track) (www.sarahdarling.com)
—Evidently, Sarah was featured on a 2003 E! network reality show called The Entertainers. You couldn’t prove it by me, but I know a singer when I hear one. The production is percussively perfect, and the extremely well written song has a melodic hook and/or an ear-catching line around every corner. The album is called Every Monday Morning, and I strongly urge you to give it—and this single—your full attention.