It’s great–Kelly Joe Phelps has all of the earnestness of a singer-songwriter without the overbearing holier-than-thou-ness that infests so many of them. It’s a testament to his skill as a musician that he lets the music speak for itself; sure, there are message lyrics on Shine Eyed Mister Zen, but one needn’t spend hours perusing them to appreciate Phelps’s deft guitar work or strong but unassuming vocals. His cover of the Leadbelly classic “Goodnight Irene” is as bittersweet as one could hope for, and he infuses his own arrangements of traditional numbers like “The House Carpenter” and “Dock Boggs Country Blues” with his distinctive touch without in any way disrespecting the songs themselves. His own songs stand up well to the covers, too; “River Rat Jimmy” is a ballad in the traditional sense, with a tense moodiness that draws the listener in, and the slow shuffle of “Piece by Piece” (with harmonica from Dave Mathis) is equally evocative. True, it’s not straight blues–there are elements of folk, country, and bluegrass here as well. But those genres share a great deal in terms of origin, and Phelps explores these connections superbly. –Genevieve Williams
