On "Blue Roses From the Moons," due in stores Tuesday, Nanci Griffith delivers a collection of heartwarming, sweetly-written ballads and rollicking reels. Her voice is tender, almost childlike, on the eulogizing "Saint Teresa of Avila," then strong and hopeful on "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Hootie and the Blowfish vocalist Darius Rucker lends his voice to the gorgeous duet "Gulf Coast Highway." Griffith turns spunky on "I Fought the Law" and the Pretenders-inflected "I Live On A Battlefield;" the old-time country lament "Maybe Tomorrow" is captivating. Griffith's backup band, the Blue Moon Orchestra -- joined by Buddy Holly accompanists the Crickets -- is the perfect counterpoint to Griffith's songwriting, adding depth, sensitivity and humor in all the right places.

-- Beth Winegarner

This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.