Peter Mulvey - Notes From Elsewhere (2007)

When it comes to the coffeehouse circuit, the singer/songwriter is someone who takes himself or herself very seriously, and for listeners to really get what the singer/songwriter is about, they must approach the artist's work with the same seriousness. Otherwise, all of the focus on life, love, and the meaning of it all falls flat. Peter Mulvey understands this, and undercuts anyone who might label him a navel-gazer on one of Notes from Elsewhere's livelier cuts, "The Trouble with Poets." "The Trouble with Poets," it seems, "is they talk too much" and "they see poetry everywhere." Having said that, however, doesn't keep Mulvey from filling the remainder of the song with wry observations on life, time, and love, all set to poetry. Mulvey has pulled a number of songs that he has written between 1991 and 2005 from his back pages, and given them unity by relying on stripped-down arrangements of acoustic guitar and voice. While this may sound like Folk 101, he's also a good guitarist, and this is especially evident on a likable instrumental piece like "Black Rabbit." As a minor aside, it would have been nice to have the printed lyrics with the CD. Words, after all, are central to Mulvey and most singer/songwriters' visions. For Mulvey fans and anyone who enjoys carefully chosen words carefully delivered, Notes from Elsewhere is a well-crafted release.