Grant McLennan - In Your Bright Ray (1997)

Though it would be fine if Australia's McLennan flew over to Nashville again and picked up a group to record another country-ish LP, assuming the results would be as wonderful again as 1994's Horsebreaker Star, McLennan's fourth solo LP returns him to his more well-trodden ground. In Your Bright Ray may be more usual fare for the sincerely modest McLennan, but thanks to the best production he's enjoyed, the album absolutely shimmers. It is as warm and soft as a cake out of the oven, a just-washed blanket, and an Eskimo coat. Bright ray, indeed. With a top-notch backing group teasing all the little subtleties that a fan of crafted, gilded, lovely pop could want and McLennan's increasingly wizened, becalmed vocals, the mix of sounds and McLennan's marvelously well-developed material radiates, sparkles, and snaps, crackles, and pops with all his strengths and then some. Best of all, unlike his first two efforts, Bright Ray is amazingly consistent, with a flow like lava, whipped cream, and a quiet brook. One song seems to fall from the man's pen as naturally as spring rain, fitting together like a finely woven 14th century tapestry. This is interesting in that Horsebreaker worked so well in the opposite direction: it held together nicely despite the pleasures of a decidedly hodgepodge collection of pop and country styles. Somehow in narrowing the focus, McLennan only succeeds more, a testament to the strength of his writing and recording. Not that Bright Ray is all just sunny, light pop -- "Malibu 69" and "All Them Pretty Angels" punch up some wickedly meaty guitars over stomping beats, and "Sea Breeze" utilizes a nifty shuffle beat to great effect. But it's the air of a workman just improving with age.© Jack Rabid /TiVo