Duane Jarvis - Certified Miracle

You can file this one under alt-country, but Jarvis sounds more like he's singing his heart than chasing a trend. Like Mark Olson of the Jayhawks, whose work this third album often recalls, Jarvis exudes a sense of joyfulness, a penchant for rock guitar, and a flair for melodies that stick in the brain. Highlights abound, including "Forgive the Fool," which sounds like something out of Flowers-era Rolling Stones; "Sad Blue Year," which references Prince ("1999 was supposed to be a celebration/That's what the Artist said/I never got the invitation"); and two tracks co-written with Lucinda Williams, among them "Still I Long for Your Kiss," which you may know from her Grammy-winning Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Read More