Iris DeMents is definitely a modern folk treasure
i just stumbled on to this album and it was love at first. real folk music of the highest caliber can't believe its been around for fifteen years and i never heard any of it miss DeMent writes and sings the stuff and almost every tracks excellent i love all types of music as long as their tastefully done and this definitely fits the criteria

Don't let it pass you by
Had the great pleasure of hearing Iris Dement live last nite in a concert in a small club here in Bloomington, IN. Her sweet twangy voice coupled with her honest (joltingly at times) lyrics, her calm, and at times very funny stage presence, made for one great evening. If you get the chance to see her perform live near you, get there, now. You won't regret it. Opening for her was Jason Wilbur, a lead guitarist for John Prine, and a talented singer/musician in his own right. A truly magical evening. This CD is wonderful for many reasons, all stated here by others quite succinctly. You spend more then this every week at Starbucks-buy this CD and learn for yourself why her reviews are all so good.

Honest to goodness "FEEL GOOD" hokey corn pone folksy music!
"INFAMOUS ANGEL" is an album unlike most others you have unless you are a fan of blue grass, folk music, or old style country music. This is not a bad thing. I like "INFAMOUS ANGEL". It is very different from that to which I usually listen. It is a great change of pace and very enjoyable. I find that excellance of all kinds can be appreciated by anyone no matter what their tastes. "INFAMOUS ANGEL" falls into this category. It is excellant.

The song that makes "INFAMOUS ANGEL" famous is "OUR TOWN" which was featured in the series finallee of the tv show "NORTHERN EXPOSURE". The album is worth the price just to get this one song. All the others are a bonus.

Simple, Sweet, and Excellent Debut
Like many Listeners, I heard Iris Dement the first time when "Our Town" was played during the Series Finale of "Northern Exposure" and loved the song. Her simple, folky lyrics and warm sentiments reflect her upbringing in the Great Plains and the song resonates with an innocence that is refreshing. But there is also more excellent material on "Infamous Angel," with "These Hills," being my favorite of her songs. The sincerity of this song evokes a black and white photograph of a longing memory and the final verse can move you to tears. Since I lived in the hills of Eastern Oklahoma for a time, where Iris was inspired to write this song, makes it all the more special to me. "Sweet Forgiveness" follows the same pattern . Not a bad song on the CD.

Down to the Bone
I discovered Iris Dement's first recording much as I did John Prine's over 30 years ago, while spending a Saturday afternoon in a music store. And, like Prine's first album, Dement's Infamous Angel seems almost beyond criticism.
Her melodies and her voice seem so utterly timeless, carved and whittled from the stone and the forests of the deep South. Her lyrics cut to the bone, with images and motifs that are both achingly sincere and incandescently universal. To choose one song from this set is, again, like choosing one song from Prine's first--almost impossible. And yet "Our Town" speaks to me in a way that only a handful of songs, a handful of poems, a handful of novels have done in my 60 years. Every image is utterly recognizable, sometimes joyfylly so, sometimes devastatingly so.
It is her town. It is her life. And yet we know that life. We know the spinning of the years. The moments of rich possibility, the moments of final passing. We know the eternal truth of the sun sinking down in our homes, in our lives, in our town.

Iris Dement is truly an American treasure. There is nothing airbrushed or new-Nashville about her or her music. She is joltingly real. Her music stuns and shapes the heart. Iris Dement IS the heart.