Stars Above

“You are no trouble to me, And you will never be,” sings Maria in this pretty little ditty, the first single from her Charm album. Aw, shucks! Oddly, the acoustic version works better for these old ears. ‘I Will Be Strong’ is a Ricky Lee Jones slice of soul that displays perfectly the hurt-but-unbowed quality of Maria’s voice, while ‘Magpie’ is a straightforward guitar and vocal workout that someone, somewhere, is playing at a singer/songwriters night near you right now. Obviously husband and producer Kieran still has those lucky boots.