Toni Price Midnight Pumpkin Antone's Records by David Pilot
	Toni Price has been playing Austin for several years now, and Midnight Pumpkin, released on Antone's Records, is her fifth album to date. Toni's a somewhat difficult to classify artist-folk, but not. Occasional hints of twang abound, but sometimes gone before you're sure they were there. Maybe somewhat akin to Bonnie Raitt, if you need a comparison and haven't heard Toni for yourself by now. But not really. Price is well-grounded in the Austin music scene, and has played regularly with the likes of Casper Rawls, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Cornbread (you may know both from Beaver Nelson), Champ Hood, the late Mambo John Treanor, and way too many more to effectively mention here. Basically, from the Continental Club to the Bluebird Café, Toni's played with and sang for most of the best. She's got a unique and somewhat raspy vocal style that she plays to maximum effect in a wide variety of settings and sonic directions on this disc. Midnight Pumpkin kicks off with "Start of Somethin' Good," a Jerry Williams-penned tune that fuses some rock and blues influenced smooth jazz sounds into a vehicle for minor-key vocals that provide a haunting but upbeat feel. Three songs later, on "Something In the Water," Toni's pipes sound smoothly raspy, like Tennessee whiskey over ice on a hot August night. This is a stunningly understated and relentlessly beautiful cut, laced together with muted electric guitar work and one of the most profound yet gentle rhythm tracks you're likely to ever hear. Baby, maybe there's something in the water Makin' me feel like I do. Baby, maybe there's something in the water I hope you're drinking it, too. The next cut, "Right Kind of Man," is straight from a 1940s dance hall, replete with silken chantreuse fronting an orchestra that knows its role is to accentuate the marvelous beauty behind the mic. Only two or three beats after this little Glenn Miller nostalgia trip debarks, "Call of My Heart" storms onto the scene in a bluegrass style straight from the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack. Ralph Stanley, take a bow. Toni Price on Shelly King's tune here is paying some homage to your repertoire. Perhaps these four songs best demonstrate the scope of this album's reach. Ms. Price, who scorns efforts at mainstream success in order to focus on her two daughters and her musical family in Austin, could easily be a star if she so chose. While she sometimes will head out of Austin for the occasional one-shot gig or appearance on "Live at the Bluebird Café," she prefers to remain in Texas in the friendly confines of the Continental Club. This may hamper her widespread commercial appeal, but certainly has helped her find her niche and grow into an accomplished musician and singer. As such, unless you happen to be in a geographically desirable location near the Texas Hill Country, your best bet is to get yourself a copy of one of her CDs. Toni penned exactly zero of the songs on Midnight Pumpkin, but like a certain slightly more accomplished Central Texas country star she knows how to pick a good tune and make it hers. She also has an excellent ear for musical talent, and her band is wound tighter than a drunk sailing down I-35 with the Rangers in tow. This album can't be classified in any genre I can think of. Honky-tonk it's definitely not, but that's about as definitive as one can be in this case. There's everything from folk to acoustic rock to blues to the aforementioned nod to big bands and captivating songstresses on this disc. While as a whole it may not appeal to folks new to Toni's style, it's difficult to imagine a listener who won't find one or two songs they can't hear quite often enough. It certainly made a fan of this Stetson-wearing tobacco-chewing whiskey-drinking fool. For more on Toni Price, check out www.toniprice.com. You can contact David Pilot at: tailgunner-at-rockzilla.net

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