Mark Erelli – Compass & Companion

Mark Erelli is nothing if not versatile. The New England singer/guitarist is impressively all over the songwriting map on his second disc, Compass & Companion, a collection of tunes that verifies the praise of his 1999 self-titled debut. Tasteful, intelligent and sensitive, Erelli’s songwriting is as unpredictable as a bead of mercury; once you think you have it, it reassembles into something else on the next track.

For example, the languid, folk-based, four-minute ballad “My Love” — about a relationship gone painfully awry — is sandwiched between “Miracle Man”, a poppy ditty that could find airtime on alt-rock radio, and “Little Sister”, a blue-eyed blues number with slide guitar and wailing harp that tells the story of how his little sister, at 22, makes more money than everybody he knows.

Then comes “Free Ride”, a swampy song of menace that recalls something from the Ray Wylie Hubbard songbook. The title track, sung as an alternating-verses duet with Kelly Willis, is a ballad of love on the road with a wide-open Texas feel. That’s followed by “Why Should I Cry Over You”, a 1940s-ish western swing number that surprises the ear with cool hollowbody electric guitar instead of ringing pedal steel.

Three things remain consistent despite the impressive genre-jumping: superb accompaniment, enviably solid songwriting and Erelli’s evocative middle tenor. It must be nice to be in your mid-20s with talent and a record deal.