Wow. Where do I start? I’ve had the hardest time trying to find the words to describe Terry Radigan’s self-titled solo debut album. Known for her contributions to the New York City-based group, Grace Pool, and for co-writing “Love Wouldn’t Lie To Me,” which was made popular by Trisha Yearwood, Nashville’s Terry Radigan finally breaks out on her own with this energetic, talented album, which captures the spirit from the very first song and doesn’t let go until the last moment of the last song.

I’m not kidding. “My Love Is Real,” the first track, is also the most powerful, and most attention-grabbing song on the album, and it was the one that hooked me quite thoroughly. It’s got a certain beat, energetic and demanding, the sort of song that just urges one to move to it, to dance and surrender to the music. It’s a ballad of true love versus false love, a cry for belief and trust, and words just can’t do it justice. This song alone is worth the price of admission, and deserves to be played as loud as possible, somewhere where you can thoroughly enjoy it.

“G-O-O-D-B-Y-E” is a slower, less frantic song, solemn and sorrowful, heralding the end of a relationship. It’s about love and loss, and moving on.

“Blink” revs up the engines again after the quiet interlude of the previous song, and it sums up Radigan herself perfectly. “Blink and there’s no telling what you’ll miss / Think how foolish to let the moment slip / Slip by with your eyes closed / By with your heart so cold / When all you need is that girl.”

After that comes the slower, jazzy, smoky feel of “The Things You’ll Do,” which explores the real ranges of Radigan’s voice, something I’ll come back to in a moment. This is a slow, sensual song, serene and and sly, and it’s not until you look at the lyrics that you realize that it’s not as happy a song as it could be.

Then you get a song like “So What,” which opens as an unearthly intrumental solo, and then segues into a powerful love song. It’s possessed of a quiet energy, subtle with a hard-to-define electricity and jazz to it.

“Happiness” is perhaps the strangest song of the album, a crooning anthem to booze and cigarettes and sorrow, the title something of a mocking regret. It’s slow, and comes off almost as a love song, when it’s much more of a tragedy. Radigan approaches it with smoke and tears in her voice, and the image of her singing this in a dark nightclub just can’t escape my mind. The lyrics are short, but extremely evocative: “Whiskey bottles like candles on a cake / There is one for every one of your mistakes / Party lights of glowing cigarettes / Surrounded by a few of your closest regrets”

Luckily, “When I Get Around You” speeds up again after the almost sorrowful pacing of the previous song, and things liven up once more.

Then, just when you’ve been lulled back into the warm happy places, “Let Him Go” comes out of nowhere, slowing down to a crawl, another one of those thoughtful, mournful ballads dealing with life, love, loss, and moving on.

The last song on the album, “50 Kisses,” changes tone and style to something almost challenging and demanding, strident and self-assured. It’s a strong, passionate, and definately upbeat way to end things, with its playful claiming of a man who’s stolen a woman’s heart.

Quite frankly, I know I’m not doing this particular album justice with my words. It’s the sort of thing where you need to hear it for yourself. Radigan is a talented performer, whose voice ranges across the spectrum, containing smoke and whiskey, love and loss, joy and regret, blues and country, and so much more. It’s like a long-lost lover, both welcoming you back into the fold, and chiding you for your absence. She’ll make you feel right at home, just before kicking you out the door and dangling the key in front of your nose.

Radigan itself is thoughtful, fun, sensual, and multi-genred, speaking of country, pop, blues, and more. I highly recommend it.

You can find lyrics and audio samples at www.vanguardrecords.com/radigan. This site also goes into details about news, reviews, tours, and the plethora of talented musicians who back Radigan up on this, such as Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar and drums), Michael Rhodes (Bass), Chad Cromwell (drums), David Davidson (violin), Kris Wilkinson (viola) and more. And for those keeping score, Radigan herself sings, and plays piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin and autoharp.

Don’t blink, or you may miss this one.