Exquisite fingerpicking and expressive slide guitar... embraces a gentle brand of blues that captures the warmth and power that come from simplicity.

One of the finest fingerstyle guitarists alive... another enchanting recording by a marvelous acoustic blues artist.

Mary Flower is a master singer, songwriter, musician and storyteller. This is one piece deserving of a Blues Music Award…at least. Mary Flower's Bridges has got to be heard to be believed.

Incredibly musical and soul-satisfying... yet again a wonderful CD by this underappreciated living folk and blues legend in the making.

Flower plays with passion and precision and creates power and beauty in just about anything those chords touch...

Throughout, Flower tickles, strokes, and caresses the strings impressively on acoustic, bottleneck, and lap steel guitar... an ideal album for appreciation on a hot summer Sunday afternoon on the back porch.

A luscious lusty mix of rootsy styles, anchored by Flower's immense finger-style guitar technique and warm-as-honey-and-whiskey voice. Her meter-perfect guitar work is inventive, dexterous and rock solid. Her voice is as comforting as a winter quilt and effortless as a breeze.

Stunning fingerpicking... 51 minutes of sheer quality – all beautifully performed!

Bridges effortlessly combines diverse styles into one cohesive unit... It’s a breathtaking tribute to early 20th century music styles that should please acoustic guitar fans of all genres.

The playing on this album is immaculate, and the lack of drums on the CD actually adds depth to the music. Flower slides fluidly from Country Blues to Gospel to Bluegrass numbers.

Flower’s blues-based "Bridges" rolls out like a meandering river... Think an earthier, mellower Bonnie Raitt, and you’re on the right track.

Mary is one of the world's finer exponents of this style; prodigiously precise - and relaxed about it.

Mary gracefully combines adventure, tradition and beauty into something I can still play on a blues program, where the first and third of those attributes are truly on the endangered list.

Mary Flower is truly an extraordinary guitarist with a golden voice...

Superbly executed inquiries into a few new songs and a bunch of gems from way back in the day... the twin poles of blues and gospel are the styles Flower bridges here, if you will.

With her knockout, bass-string snapping, string-bending, ascending-up-the-neck passages and delicate fingers dancing merrily across the strings, Mary Flower bridges to amazing.

Already known for projects with more stylistic diversity than most other "Acoustic blues" musicians, Flower's album title is apt in that she takes the wide-angled approach to roots music...

As good as her last several recordings were, Bridges may be the best work of Mary Flower’s career... a moving collection that deserves a wide audience.

Shows off her chops with an easy-going delivery... acoustic guitarist/singer Mary Flower is making waves, like a gentle version of Bonnie Raitt.

Mary Flower's road runs through the heart of the USA -- and so do her songs. It's Flower at her finest -- musically and lyrically.

Through it all, Flower maintains a rootsy, earthy, down-home perspective... Bridges celebrates a variety of American roots music, with delightful results.

A gorgeously produced yet not over produced CD of acoustic songs...

A simple but completely engaging set... Flower is sure to be the inside straight your folk/acoustic sweet tooth has been looking for. Hot stuff.

Outstanding music from one of the world's best Piedmont-style fingerpickers and lap slide guitarists...

This music is solid as a rock and is rooted in a long tradition...

Phenomenally good folk. Makes me want to eat with my fingers… and crush buttercups on a loving woman's forearms.

Flower transcends classification... an amazing talent that can bring an image to the mind with her playing.

A stunning collection… Providence must have kissed each individual finger on the hands of Mary Flower.

Unfailingly sweet, hot and sassy -- every track on this album has something about it that will give you shivers... This is one of the most satisfying albums of the year.

A first-rate fingerpicker who also plays fine bottleneck... Flower straddles the line between blues and jazz, recalling the spirits of Memphis Minnie, Blind Blake, and Louis Armstrong.

Exquisite force and hauntingly poignant vocals... while so many of today's records fade quickly, this is one CD that will always remain a favorite.

Imbued with the kind of piping hot cadences that only the finest Crescent City jazz players can provide... could very well add up to be my pick for blues disc of the year.

A standout album of 2005... Mary’s albums have never shied from introducing less familiar instruments & arrangements, which thankfully livens up our listening experiences.

Flower glides effortlessly through the variegated byways and backwaters of American roots music...

Flower, a world-class fingerstyle and lap-slide guitarist, weighs in on the close relationship between folk-blues and early jazz ...

With refreshingly minimalist arrangements built around Flower's fine finger-style and lap-slide playing, this is a kick from the first downbeat...

Typically marvellous release by master fingerstyle blueswoman...

Immaculately played and beautifully produced blues 'n' roots set...

A bluesy, funky, yet wholly refined take on rural guitar... [Flower] is a master worthy of much wider recognition.

Joyful, celebratory, and unabashedly hopeful... piano and Dixieland horn section perfectly complement Flower’s ragtime-inflected picking and funky lap-steel work.

A truly original musical blend... Bywater Dance features such joyous music-making, even in the midst of the album's blues, that it's likely to lift the spirits of N'awlins-lovin' listeners.

This CD is not strictly folk. It’s not all blues, and it’s not a pure jazz record. Instead, Flower wades into the mouth of a mighty river where they all flow together.

The utterly unpretentious results are endearing and the download must-have, “Last Kind Word Blues,” will haunt you.

Sounds modern and traditional at the same time... Her guitar work is breathtaking and her vocals are warm and inviting.

Once again gives the world notice that Mary Flower is one of the best acoustic artists to be reckoned with...

You don't twice place in the top three at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship without mastering the fine art of string dancing. And that's exactly what the breezy Bywater Dance lets this acoustic bluesician tastefully do...

Once again, Mary Flower has demonstrated her powerful musical trifecta as performer, arranger and composer...

What is this? Acoustic blues? Ragtime? Americana? New Orleans voodoo? Well… Yes.

Smashing! This is a classy composite that meshes Piedmont with New Orleans. Most highly recommended!

Combines deft fingerpicking & sultry slide playing with the funky textures of her backing musicians... this is tasty stuff. Highly recommended!

Fresh and inventive... Flower is a wonderful ragtime-styled guitar picker and a fine singer, but makes this acoustic album come alive is the interplay with the New Orleans-based backing musicians.

Much more than rootsy blues meets New Orleans... explores styles with the first-take feel of a joyful jam.

As good and authentic a collection of new New Orleans music as one could want...

Sunday opened with Bob Margolin saying to me, "I have to go watch Mary Flower, she's one of my favorites."

A gifted fingerpicker and rising star on the acoustic-blues scene, Flower gets her own signature sound by using open strings and unusual partial chords...

She combines and links together both tradition and innovation to point in new directions, breaking down old boundaries along the way with a glee that comes across on this disc.

I was blown away...

If you closed your eyes, it was difficult to believe that only one person was up on stage...

The tradition of pairing blues/country artists with jazz musicians continues in new and exciting ways...

One of America's finest roots musicians... she has a quality to her voice that harks back to bygone days.

Deeply based on the most genuine folk and back porch blues tradition, Mary shows herself as an irresistible artist full of nuance...

Flower is an exceptional guitarist, whether picking out melodies in a syncopated Piedmont mode or running a slide up and down her guitar neck...

This disc pleases and surprises with each track... Mary is truly an American treasure.