Marc Cohn

With rootsier, acoustic neofolk ascendant, Marc Cohn's 1991 debut harkens back to the more sophisticated rock and pop inflections of singer-songwriters of two decades past. His supple, velvety baritone and elegant piano-based arrangements frame shrewdly crafted songs ripe with pop touches, none more intricate or deftly executed than the set's epochal "Walking In Memphis," an epiphany rooted in rich musical history, studded with allusions to Elvis and Al Green, Beale Street and Graceland, and buoyed by a rippling piano motif and surging gospel choruses. Giving the set depth, as well as commercial legs, are of "Silver Thunderbird," infectious and intimate in its evocation of his father, husky meditations "Ghost Train" and "Dig Down Deep," a sexy update of Willie Dixon's "29 Ways" (the probable seed for Paul Simon's antithetical "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"); and the fervent lover's anthem, "True Companion." --Sam Sutherland