Louise Taylor is a folkie singer/songwriter/guitarist whose vivid lyrics are stronger than her ordinary melodies. Ruby Shoes was produced by Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman with help from such Windham Hill artists as Virginia bassist Michael Manring. The mostly drummer-less arrangements are often too laid back, but her words perk things up, as when she describes her heart, abandoned "in the back of a rusty pickup truck, restless and rolling like an old beer can." In contrast to Gallup"s narratives, Taylor prefers miniature studies, where she describes a childhood friend"s toothy smile, a hometown sidewalk, or a photo in a silver locket in such detail that a whole world is implied. --Geoffrey Himes