by Greg Adams
When Webb Pierce made Fallen Angel, he had already settled into the formula that would last him throughout the decade: crisp and precise country-pop songs given a hint of rock & roll flavor with prominent drums and electric bass. His trailblazing was behind him, although his blending of pop-oriented instrumental backing with hard country vocals put him in a unique class with the likes of Ernest Ashworth and, occasionally, Rose Maddox. The product was more successful than Pierce receives credit for -- two songs on Fallen Angel crossed over to the pop Top 100, and Pierce would wind up ranked seventh in Billboard's accounting of the top country artists of the '60s. The title track and &(Doin' The) Lovers Leap& were the two hits on this brief album, and the cookie-cutter songs yield no surprises but ensure a baseline level of quality that fans of Pierce and country music of the era will appreciate.