Judee Sill's second and last album released during her short life plays with early-'70s California canyon twang thanks in part to her being accompanied by some of the genre's luminaries, like Flying Burrito Brothers bassist Chris Ethridge, banjo man Doug Dillard, steel-guitar guru Buddy Emmons, and Spooner Oldham on the keys. But Sill was reticent to be lumped in with country rock, choosing instead to describe her music here as "country-cult-baroque," a much more apt title since she handled these string arrangements and most of the lyrics were still touching on her fascination with Christian theology and the occult. Battling with the heroin addiction that would take her life shortly after, songs like the beautifully haunting "The Kiss" and "The Donor" best exemplify the troubled brilliance that put Heart Food in the same cannon as Big Star's Third - Sister Lovers. Even the sunny-sounding opener "There's A Rugged Road" (covered by Shawn Colvin in 1994) is contrasted with lyrics about hunger and fading hope. The remastering of Heart Food highlights every nuance and texture, especially on the bonus instrumental, "Jig."