Additional personnel: Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar), Greg Adamson (cello).

Recorded at Brilliant, San Francisco, California and Master Control, Burbank, California.

All songs written by Grant Lee Phillips.

Personnel: Grant Lee Phillips (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, harmonica); Paul Kimble (vocals, piano, organ, pump organ); Greg Leisz (steel guitar); Greg Adamson (cello); Joey Peters (marimba, drums, maracas, shaker, tabla, tambourine, tumba, sound effects).

Audio Mixer: Paul Kimble.

Recording information: Brilliant, San Francisco, CA; Master Control, BurbankPhotographer: Melodie McDaniel.

Unknown Contributor Role: Joey Peters.

For an album released in the year 1994, Grant Lee Buffalo's MIGHTY JOE MOON seems out of place, and surprisingly sincere. After all, it's not country and it's not billed as "unplugged," but MIGHTY JOE MOON's heartfelt acoustic arrangements and nationalistic themes aren't the gum-smacking alterna-fare our ears have come to call pop.

Rich enough to cause a heart attack, MIGHTY JOE MOON is an album that deserves comparisons to the likes of Van Morrison and early R.E.M., but whose songwriter, Grant Lee Phillips, weaves melodies like a cross between Marc Bolan and Gordon Lightfoot.

The infectious patriotism in "Lone Star Song" and the dreamy "Drag" show a winning combination of Phillips' influences and how they translate to moving lyrics and strong melodies and arrangements. MIGHTY JOE MOON is a lovely album, which pays close attention to melody and mood without losing its punch.