fans had to wait six years for , an album filled with revealing, gorgeously written songs that more than rewarded listeners' patience. Just over a year later, he returned with , a set of songs whose title reflects their quality, if perhaps not their commercial prospects. While on tour for , continued that album's creative momentum, finishing up some old songs and writing some new ones along the way. Recorded within a week and with several songs wrapped in one take, could almost pass for a live album in its relaxed spontaneity. gives his audience plenty of space and time to appreciate his songcraft and conversational flow, and while these songs are character sketches instead of 's deeply personal, intertwining meditations, the lightness and intimacy of that album lingers. As on that record, the brilliant observational skills he's had since the days are turned towards people instead of away from them. On "Pigeons," a chauffeur tells a couple en route to their honeymoon, "When you are dating, you only see each other/And the rest of us can go to hell/But when you are married, you are married to the whole wide world/The rich, the poor, the sick and the well." He also lets his sense of humor come to the surface more than he has in some time, whether he's name-dropping and as a wink to the critics who invariably compare him to those legends or delivering a lighthearted tribute to "Ry Cooder." However, his wit never detracts from more poignant moments like "The Mackenzies," which finds a man standing in for the dead son of his neighbors. is also a graceful extension of 's larger body of work under his own name. Joined by guitarist and bassist , he continues to evoke the history of country and folk in ways that suit his own style perfectly. While the focus is always rightfully on his voice and guitar, the pedal steel, strings, brass, and woodwinds that wind through the album embellish his songcraft in ways that feel more timeless than self-consciously nostalgic. When he revisits "Let's Move to the Country," the opening track from 's 1999 album , it's burnished by layers of wisdom and experience that accept the past as a part of the present and future, or as puts it at one point, "It's all one river." Equally rich and effortless, is especially satisfying for longtime fans as part of a bounty of great work from since his return, but there's plenty here to delight anyone who loves brilliant songwriting and down-to-earth performances. ~ Heather Phares