9th Ward Pickin' Parlor (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Shawn Mullins (acoustic guitar); The Starvation Army Po' Boy Choir (various instruments); Mike West (acoustic guitar); David Patterson , Rob Gal, Peter Stroud (electric guitar); William Tonks (lap steel guitar); Chris Thile (mandolin); Brandon Bush (accordion); Kevin Leahy (vibraphone); Rob Henson (upright bass); Matt Mangano, Mike D. Steele, David LaBruyere (electric bass); Gerry Hansen (drums); Kenny Malone (bells).

Not surprisingly, Shawn Mullins' association with Sony didn't last long. His sophomore release for the label never found its audience, and with eclectic singer/songwriters not exactly in vogue in 2005, he found a more comfortable and logical home at Vanguard. Here was a company that thrived on, and had a successful history, promoting other artists with idiosyncratic folk and folk-rock styles similar to Mullins. The feeling was obviously mutual, since he delivers a gem of a debut, 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, for the legendary imprint.

With acoustic tracks recorded at the titular New Orleans studio, pre-Hurricane Katrina, Mullins has crafted a diverse offering that encompasses folk, rock, Celtic, and country, often interlocking in the same tune. He aims for early Black Crowes territory on the gospel-laced "Faith," and gives a personal spin to a self-penned murder ballad "Cold Black Heart," which is dominated by his work on charango, an Andean mandolin. The mandolin also plays a prominent role in "Homemade Wine," a moody story-song ballad about leaving a town and a life behind that takes advantage of Mullins' deep, expressive voice. "All Fall Down" finds its rocking heart in the Beatles' "I Want You," especially as it builds in intensity as circular chords accentuate the melody. The disc's first single, the harder-edged "Beautiful Wreck" is also better than anything on the short-lived Thorns' project, a band where Mullins shared the stage with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge (Droge helped co-write the track). Mullins goes traditional religious on the waltz-timed "Lay Down Your Swords, Boys" that gradually intensifies from solo mandolin by slowly adding instruments until it culminates in full Salvation-Army-band mode with backing vocals. Mullins taps into his inner James Taylor on the bluesy "Solitaire," and closes out the album with a moving version of "House of the Rising Sun" that also builds from acoustic to electric as the singer interestingly takes the original female voice of the protagonist. The song seems to be his tribute to New Orleans, a city whose dusky atmosphere has subtly contributed to Shawn Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album. ~ Hal Horowitz minimize