Redwood Cathedral
In this sharply focused album, Gaughan continues his return to a strongly acoustic sound in a series of songs of politics and life on a human scale. It opens with Brian McNeill's "Muir and the Master Builder," a poem-song dedicated to John Muir, the godfather of American environmentalism. It continues with Si Kahn's "Gone, Gonna Rise Again," and Ron Kavana's moving call for Irish unity, "Reconciliation." His ability to take other writers' songs and make them personal is amazing, and this continues throughout the recording. He also contributes a few of his own well-crafted pieces, notably "All the King's Horses," a dire warning to the governments and oppressors of Scotland and the world to watch their back: "You hurt so many on your upward climb, now you're all alone and it's closing time." There's also the required Gaughan interpretation of a classic pop song. This time the romantic '60s pop paean "Let It Be Me" is given a raw, aching reading over his signature solo guitar picking.Redwood Cathedralranks up there with his now classicHandful of Earthfor sincerity and directness.--Louis Gibson