Restless

1	Rockin' Horse 3:58
2	Backseat of a Greyhound Bus 5:33
3	Restless 4:14
4	Niagara 5:34
5	Perfect 4:01
6	Need to Be Next to You 4:29
7	To Be Happy 3:51
8	Tonight 5:26
9	Otis Redding 4:38
10	Feel It Comin' On 3:03
11	I Give In 4:52
12	Big Cry 3:18
13	Suds in the Bucket 3:47

Barnes & Noble

Sara Evans is emerging as a country belter whose vocal strength and interpretive savvy rival Trisha Yearwood's. Restless, her fourth album, evokes its title sentiment on a number of songs fueled by jittery fiddle lines, wailing electric guitars, and punishing drum assaults, but there's more to the disc than mere state-of-the-art country pop. "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus," for example, takes off into the stratosphere with its booming chorus, but Evans's tender reading of the lyrics, about a girl who finds her "saving grace" in the least likely setting, lends the track a soulful, sensitive touch. Similarly, on the Irish-influenced title song, a striking arrangement rife with mandolin, tin whistle, and a lone, military-like snare drum, provides a rootsy backdrop for a winsome tale of a wandering lass in search of a direction in life. "Asking me not to love you / is like asking Niagara not to fall," is the wry, smart sentiment in "Niagara Falls" -- it's the power ballad that country has been waiting for, with over-the-top production flourishes, a couple of tense, quiet passages, and Evans's fire-powered vocal. She saves her best, though, for "Otis Redding," which is not an homage to the great soul singer but a tale of lust and longing sung with smoldering intensity by a gal who beckons her lover with "Otis Redding makes me feel good / dancing in the kitchen barefoot." Sounds like a plan, just as Restless sounds like a huge breakthrough for one of country's premier singers. David McGee

All Music Guide

Commercial country music has become so slick and predictable that when an artist emerges who conveys even the slightest bit of mold-breaking potential, they're name rolls off of the lips of critics like an answered prayer. Missouri-raised siren Sara Evans has that potential, and uses it sparingly on Restless, her fourth record for RCA. The spirited opener, "Rockin' Horse," features fellow crooner Vince Gill on harmony, and impeccable playing from Nashville's finest. "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus" is a lush tale of redemption that sounds like the musical sister to Train's 2001 smash, "Drops of Jupiter." The Celtic-flavored "Restless," the obvious single, is tailor-made to fit in between the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain on any FM station. After these three songs, Evans goes on autopilot, exploring the generic world of crossover country like a Shakespeare scholar in remedial English. She sounds bored. Time crawls from ballad to boogie, until finally reaching the tune "Big Cry." This is an outstanding country-soul hybrid recalling early k.d. lang and a direction that Evans would do well to inspect further. Like fellow producer Mutt Lange, Paul Worley knows how to work the machine, and Restless plays like a Nashville tutorial on the polished, hit-song assembly line. Reverend Lee Power

Entertainment Weekly

Evans has solid taste in balladry and a warm, welcoming voice. (B) Chris Willman