The Kennedys Hit a High Note

“Good, Better, Best,” the song that closes this album, is a 20^th anniversary valentine from Pete Kennedy to his wife, Maura. Its title could also serve, however, as an assessment of the duo’s recorded output. In other words, West may be the finest album yet from the Kennedys, who have been making increasingly excellent CDs for two decades.

The couple’s vocals blend beautifully on tracks like “Perfect Love,” “Southern Jumbo” and the exuberant title cut. Other winners include the sitar-spiced “Signs”; the lilting “Locket”; and the aforementioned “Good, Better, Best.” Expect ringing guitars, irresistible melodies and gorgeous harmonies throughout this joyous and affecting package, which nods to such influences as the Byrds, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.

As the couple say in the liner notes, “We decided early on that our duo songs would be uplifting, encouraging and hopefully empowering, acknowledging the dark but holding out a spark.” That’s exactly what they deliver here.

Jeff Burger edited Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, both published by Chicago Review Press. He is working on a third book for the same publisher. His website, byjeffburger.com, contains more than four decades’ worth of music reviews and commentary.