Musicology Review

The pitch was a return to actual musicianship after a decade of erratic releases, and on that narrow measure it succeeds. The horns are real, the rhythm section swings, and the title track is a fine strut with a bass line that could carry a much better song. Call My Name is a good slow one. Cinnamon Girl has a decent chorus. The rest is craft without inspiration. The lyrics lean on lecturing, about how music used to be made and how people no longer appreciate it, which is a subject nobody has ever made interesting.

The arrangements are polished to a point where nothing can surprise you. It was a commercial success mostly because copies were included with concert tickets, and the tour was genuinely superb, which flattered the album considerably. Judged on its own, this is a competent, tidy, pleasant record from a man who used to make records nobody could have predicted.