Nanci Griffith has worn her success well. Along with Lyle Lovett, she has sold the most records of any Texas singer/songwriter, and she has done so on her own terms. Flyer is a jaunty, sometimes driving collection of original songs exploring the politics of the heart and featuring a number of effective guest artists, most notably members of the Counting Crows, Dire Straits, and even R.E.M. But Flyer remains central to her growing body of work for the songs, some of Griffith"s most poetic and concise, moving at once beyond a purely Texas folk style and into folk-rock, and yet staying true to her narrative gifts. --Roy Kasten