National Public Radio continues its safe -- but insightful -- I Heard it on NPR series with Singers, Songs and Sessions, a collection of performances from some of the genre's finest established and up-and-coming artists. Recorded live in NPR's Studio 4A, each track is impeccably produced and exquisitely played, leaving little room for experimentation. However, for every by-the-books triumph from Natalie Merchant, Rosanne Cash or Patty Larkin, there's a little gem to uncover. Former medical student turned songwriter Vienna Teng provides an affecting rendition of "Harbor," a track from her excellent 2004 release Warm Strangers while fellow pianist Randy Newman offers up a visceral and stark-naked version of the bitterly satisfying "Sail Away," but it's left-field participants Calexico whose lonely "Gilbert" fills the studio with enough mesa-lined highways and desert sunsets to render the whole affair palatable. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide