A Pocketful of Rain, Fracasso's fifth and finest album, offers a dozen shining and delightful songs that handily make the case for the greatness of their writer and singer. With what No Depression calls his "shrewd combination of powerful images and memorable melodies," he creates virtual worlds within every cut. Combining eloquence, elegance and palpable emotionality with melodies that carry a seductive pop appeal, it's American singer-songwriter music for the new century. As the Oklahoma Gazette notes, he "[puts] all the great strains of American music into a cohesive package," and never more vividly than on this disc. Singing with a voice that Rolling Stone has hailed as "a marvelous instrument," Fracasso is joined on A Pocketful of Rain, by rising star Patty Griffin on vocals. All told, it's one of those rare albums that truly reaches the deep places within a listener's heart and mind.