*** Rosie Flores

DANCE HALL DREAMS

(Rounder)

When they call Rosie Flores "Queen of the Honky-Tonks," they mean it in a good way. Because Rosie is an all-around gal, a crafty songwriter in traditional country, folk, and rockabilly ways, a fine guitar picker and an earnest, spirited singer who's been leading bands since she was literally a child. It's been more than a decade since her big-label debut (on CD as A Honky Tonk Reprise) entered the annals of truly great country releases, but Rosie's as hot as ever down in Texas, where she recorded this set live and uncluttered in two days, alongside stellar folks like steel-guitar player Cindy Cashdollar.

The only cover here is a smoldering, twanging take on the Wanda Jackson hit "Funnel of Love." Otherwise, Dance Hall Dreams ranges from buoyant rockabilly grooves to several softer cuts, only one or two of which lack distinction. The depth of Flores's roadhouse resourcefulness shows in the clever cowboy-swing CD opener, "Little Bit More," a ditty she wrote a decade ago but never previously committed to tape. And the simple, swaying "Bring It On" would probably be a hit if country radio were only a little more adventurous.

-- Bill Kisliuk