THIS is "A Short History Of The Willard Grant Conspiracy", as the album subtitle announces.

That short history - 80 minutes is short?! - is not a greatest hits collection, because these forefathers of Americana hit the soul rather than the charts.

The essence of Willard Grant Conspiracy is all here, that essence being the world-weary drawl of co-founder Robert Fisher, the Bostonian baritone around whom upwards of 30 musicians have gathered in a loose collective since 1996 in places as disparate as Arizona, Slovenia, London and Holland. Seventeen re-mastered selections from five largely acoustic, country-noir albums and rarities draw on a deep well of introspection, drink and life in the small-hour shadowlands.

One paced it may be, but not everyone craves the fast lane.

Updated: 10:51 Thursday, December 02, 2004