With his mellifluous tone and jazz and soul phrasing,
Wilcox could be written off as a lightweight, but his songs and musicianship are far more worthy than a copycat's. This is the eighth album for the folksinger with the
James Taylor voice, at times accompanied by acoustic band
Jars of Clay. He tackles a back porch blues on "What You Whispered," near funk and soul (on banjo) on "This Tattoo," and folk-pop-hip-hop with "Start With the Ending." Its pithy lyrics may seem borrowed from Loudon Wainwright's catalog of mock, complex relationship songs, but it's clever nonetheless. And like Wainwright's and Richard Thompson's songs to their guitars, there isn't a guitarist in the world who won't relate to "Guitar Shopping." ~ Denise Sullivan