Personnel: Lou Ann Barton (vocals); Jimmie Vaughan, Wayne "Night Train" Perkins, Duncan Cameron, Jimmy Johnson (guitar); Glenn Frey (guitar, background vocals); Harvey Thompson, Walter King, Greg Piccolo (tenor saxophone); Ronnie Eades (baritone saxophone); Al Garth (saxophone); Harrison Calloway (trumpet); Charlie Rose (trombone); The Muscle Shoals Horns (horns); Barry Beckett, Clayton Ivey (keyboards); David Hood (bass); Roger Hawkins (drums); Tom Roady (percussion); Lenny LeBlanc, Eddie Struzick, Cindy Richardson, Ava Aldridge, The Flemtones (background vocals).

Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama.

Personnel: Greg Piccolo, Harvey Thompson (tenor); Ronnie Eades (baritone); Glenn Frey (guitar, background vocals); Jimmy Johnson, Duncan Cameron, Jimmie Vaughan (guitar); Al Garth (saxophone); Harrison Galloway (trumpet); Charlie Rouse (trombone); Muscle Shoals Horns (horns); Clayton Ivey, Barry Beckett (keyboards); David Hood (bass instrument); Roger Hawkins (drum); Tom Roady (percussion); Cindy Richardson, Eddie Struzick, Lenny LeBlanc (background vocals).

The debut album by Austin-based blues-rock singer Lou Ann Barton didn't sound like many major-label releases of 1982. Produced by Atlantic Records veteran Jerry Wexler (with, worryingly, some help from ex-Eagles schlockmeister Glenn Frey) and recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Old Enough is a solid piece of soulful Texas-style blues-rock. Barton reveals herself to be an exceptional singer, sassy and sly but with a welcome tendency toward restraint. (Many singers in this style try too hard to prove their soulfulness and end up sounding ridiculous.) She's also got a keen eye for songs, investing the old standard "Finger Poppin' Time" with enough relish to make it sound fresh and turning Marshall Crenshaw's rockabilly-tinged "Brand New Lover" into a full-on Wanda Jackson-style barnburner. There are a few missteps, like the too-slick-by-half radio-friendly ballad "It's Raining," but overall, Old Enough is an unpretentious, timeless-sounding set. It all but disappeared upon its 1982 release and remained out of print until the Austin blues label Antone reissued it on CD in 1997. ~ Stewart Mason

Q (12/95, p.165) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...The playing is naturally, right on the button. The songs are solid and safe R&B workhorses...which only makes her subsequent lack of recognition all the more mystifying..."