by Stewart MasonThis is where Bonnie Hayes gets her artistic dignity back. Although the San Francisco-based singer/songwriter had gotten a fair amount of notice in the early '90s for writing the best songs on Bonnie Raitt's Grammy-winning Nick of Time (including"Love Letter," included in a superior version here), her last release on her own had been 1987's mostly dismal major-label debut (and swan song) Bonnie Hayes. (It's not hard to read the opening"My Brave Face" -- not the McCartney/Costello song -- as being in part an apology for that artistic debacle.) Empty Sky is several hundred times better, and almost ranks with her first two indie albums, 1982's Good Clean Fun and 1984's Brave New Girl. Those albums' producer, Steve Savage, returns for this set, and his simple, unaffected production style suits the … » Read more