When it was released, Jack Bernhardt gave Patty Loveless' "Mountain Soul II" a four-star review. Here's what he said:
Throughout her career, Patty Loveless has made some of the finest country music albums of her generation. While her hits have been solidly mainstream, her roots derive from the bluegrass, gospel and old-time ballad traditions of her Kentucky coal country upbringing.
"Mountain Soul II" (Saguaro Road) is the welcomed follow-up to "Mountain Soul," her 2001 collection of acoustic bluegrass. With guest appearances by Vince Gill, Del McCoury, Mike Auldridge, Emmylou Harris and others, Loveless offers 15 acoustic gems drawn from traditional and contemporary sources.
She kicks off with the late Harlan Howard's classic of hard times, "Busted." Loveless chooses the original lyrics, which set the scene in poverty-stricken coal fields following the closing of the mines.
Loveless goes on to survey the emotional landscape of romance ("Feelings of Love"), heartbreak ("Half Over You"), and remorse ("Prisoner's Tear"), and she revisits "A Handful of Dust" and "Big Chance" from earlier CDs.
In mid-program, Loveless takes the listener to church with a trio of gospel songs - the Monroe-esque "Working on a Building" and a cappella versions of "Friends in Gloryland" and "(We are All) Children of Abraham." And she closes with "Diamond in My Crown," Harris' blessed assurance of spiritual reward.
