One of the great pleasures of being involved in the local music scene is opportunity it provides us to watch talented musicians and songwriters develop their chops. In the larger music market, we barely get the chance to experience music of depth and quality, much less the music that was released before an artist reached a level of ability that made him or her marketable. In MJ Bishop, we have a remarkable source of electricity for the local scene, working solo, in her own band, with ThorNton Creek, and in singer-songwriter circles, promoting the work of other local talents.  Meantime, her own talents grow.  Where her first album surprised us with its quality and its Eagles-like sensitivity to hooky choruses and intriguing story songs, this CD steps closer to us with a surprising degree of self-confidence and depth.  Less reverb, less of an effort to sound commercial.  More of a live sound, with the voice right out there, hiding behind nothing. There are a few minor rough spots in the instrumentation, but they are welcome, in fact, in the context of such openness and vulnerability. And the songs have lost their slightly confusing, seemingly private references, and invited us in. "Come as you are," they seem to say.  Instant country chestnuts like "My Train Song," the witty "Kiss Like You Mean It" and "Highway Heaven" are interspersed with touching soon-to-be-classics like "Leave the Light On" (with a killer chorus), "Little Angel Tears" (with its moving duo of voices in the chorus), and the powerful and affirming lament, "Not This Time."  (Mention should also be made of the fine harmonica work by newcomer Chuck Perov on the "Feel Good Song."  Who is that masked bandit?)  MJ continues to combine deep roots in acoustic music with a maturing country sensibility, and to create a genre that is, in many ways, her own.  I recommend you let her music help you Feel Good and feel deeply.