Unsung
When a celebrated songwriter cuts an album of covers, it's generally a stopgap till the next record or a way out of a contract. But Cleaves, never known to be prolific or to knock out product, approaches his seventh album in 16 years with a purposefulness that transcends a mere shout-out to wordsmith friends. His choices are obscure--the best-known songwriter here is David Olney--but meaningful, varied, sometimes stunning. He's drawn to traditional allusions and melodies (Michael O'Connor's "Devil's Lullaby"), to minimalist character studies (Adam Carroll's "Race Car Joe"), and to Austin, Texas, where many of the songwriters covered make their homes. Cleaves taps Karen Poston for "Flowered Dresses," a Kodachrome of small town love; Steve Brooks for "Everette," a praise-song for a barstool poet; Graham Weber for "Oh Roberta," a gift to a troubadour's muse; and Chris Montgomery for "Call It Sleep," a working man's lament. If the arrangements are straight-up Americana--with David Henry's cello and organ shaking things up a bit--Cleaves's temperate, sly grin of a voice finds comic insight between all the wistfully down-and-out lines. Like Nanci Griffith onOther Voices, Other Rooms, Cleaves takes the measure of influences which are more contemporary than historic, and as a result, captures the spirit of a lively if largely underground folk scene. --Roy Kasten