Victoria Williams: “Loose” (Mammoth Records)

Victoria Williams is probably known to you all by now as the very talented young singer who was diagnosed as having M.S. and who has had compilation albums in her honour, featuring various genius-like people co-operating in an attempt to raise money to support her and research the illness. Most importantly, though, Ms Williams was already an artist of no little respect and standing before news of her misfortune came through and Loose which she describes as “egalitarianistic in theory – o dear” is further proof, if any were needed, that pronouncements on her greatness are in no way a sympathetic verdict after the fact.

Mike Mills and Peter Buck along with The Williams Brothers and Greg Cohen (of Tom Waits band fame), and the legendary Van Dyke Parks contribute most heavily to the massive sixteen tracks here, that run through the entire gamut of Western musical styles. The best of these are the opening couple ‘Century Plant’, ‘You R Loved’ and the offbeat film-score saga style of ‘Polish Those Shoes’. It’s the truly outstanding ‘Crazy Mary’, though, which defines Victoria Williams as a genuinely authentic artist who can imbue a local event with all the portent and familiarity of something that’s simultanesouly happening on the world stage. Definitely one of the albums of the year, from a unique voice.

• Patrick Brennan