keepers 3
keeper avg .273
I wonder if the album would be noteworthy if the dramatic background love story was absent. That story is more or less summed up in opening track "Perfect Lover", unobstructed by any lyrical abstraction or cleverness. It's great drama, but the story of the album makes better prose than poetry. The collaboration makes many poignant moments, such as the dueling guitar leads throughout and Jones' breathy responses to Chrissie Hynde's lines. The interplay sometimes trips up, blunting the impact of the otherwise great "Australia" for example. However no layering or interplay can blunt the ripping "If You Let Me"*****. JP Jones' vocal delivery on "Courage"**** comes dangerously close to John Cougar Mellencamp territory, but this track and "Your Fairground"**** are solid and have gorgeous guitar work throughout. Like these two tracks, most of the album settles into a well-worn alt-country pocket. Hynde and Jones have their mellower moments as well. Jones bares it all on the stripped-down classic country "Leave Me If You Must", while Hynde's jazzy "Meanwhile" and ballad "Misty Valleys" seem unfocused and awkward. Though these tracks add to a fair amount of filler, there is greatness to be found elsewhere.
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