Stacey Earle / Mark Stuart – Never Gonna Let You Go
As charming as 2001’s unplugged Stacey Earle/Mark Stuart offering Must Be Live was, two CDs full of low-key tale-spinning did make for a somewhat underwhelming experience. For this studio album, the singer-songwriter spouses swung the pendulum 180 degrees.
On key tracks such as the Warren Zevon/Delaney & Bonnie-like “Our World” or the smoky, swampy blues of “Lookin’ For Fool’s Gold”, the duo’s adeptness at rocking out is every bit as spontaneous and compelling as that of Buddy & Julie Miller. Earle & Stuart employ brave arrangements in a number of places — particularly on “When She’s Having Fun”, with strings, complex tempos and a baroque vibe that provides their voices’ harmonic blend with a worthy showcase.
Not everything works. Despite a wonderfully Nanci Griffith-like vocal turn from Earle on opening cut “Me And The Man In The Moon”, the subtle island cadence and chirpy arrangement fall perilously near Jimmy Buffett MOR. And given that it’s not until the fourth track that the album seems to find its groove — #2 is a silly piece of kazoo-laden fluff, while the third cut’s shticky old-timey piano/guitar is similarly lightweight — impatient listeners might not stick with it. If they do, though, they’ll find that Never Gonna Let You Go is, on the whole, an engaging set.