One of Americana's favored sons proves why, with all the frills of a torn leather jacket. If you're not into Duane Jarvis yet, it's time. DELICIOUS A good case of the blues on a rainy day really helped to get inside the deep and hypnotic quality of DJ's deceptively straight ahead and very sparsely produced record. Duane paired up with George Marinelli at his Wing Ding Studios. Good things happen there. The co-producer is a mighty instrumentalist, but added only a few crucial flourishes. His Wurlitzer track on "Beyond Beautiful" and the Keith Richards style electric guitar on the title track certainly helped stand them out as my two clear favorites, although the surprisingly Leonard Cohen-esque co-write with Chuck Prophet, "Spread My Soul Too Thin," is also fabulous. DJ's brand of music draws from many quarters. Country blues and folk populate many songs, along with a punk sensibility that surfaces on others, and plenty of old Country and Blues ghosts walk through the lyrics and grooves of the eleven songs. All but one were co-written by the artist with a host of greats that include Tim Carroll and Tim Krekel, Chuck Prophet, George Marinelli and others. The Duane Jarvis journey so far has found him at the center of the music scene in Portland, Los Angeles, and East Nashville. He counts a long list of luminaries among his friends and supporters, and has gigged or recorded with Lucinda Williams, The Divinyls, Dwight Yoakam, John Prine, Giant Sand, and Dave Alvin, to name a famous few. Along with appearing in several major motion pictures, his songs have been recorded by Lucinda Williams, Peter Case, Pinmonkey, Amy Rigby, Greg Trooper, Rosie Flores, and many other great artists. * * * It's a wonder Duane Jarvis can find time to make any music of his own. Lucky for us, he does. Besides being a sought-after sideman, Jarvis has an ever-growing following of loyal fans who have come to expect great things from a very busy guy. Following up 2001's critically acclaimed album CERTIFIED MIRACLE (Blue Buffalo Records), Jarvis stripped down from the horn-drenched MIRACLE sound to create a record that is more personal, more introspective, and, at the same time, more joyful. From the Lamar Sorrento painting on the cover to the all-out rocking on songs such as "Happy Town," you can tell that life for Jarvis is in fact DELICIOUS. Jarvis is building a strong body of work as a solo artist, having released three previous efforts, MIRACLE, DJ'S FRONT PORCH (Medium Cool) and FAR FROM PERFECT (Watermelon) which released to critical acclaim. He has also found a niche on the silver screen. In addition to his own and others' versions of his songs in various Hollywood offerings, Jarvis had his biggest on-screen hit in 2002 when "There Is A Light" was featured prominently in the surprise hit of that summer, The Rookie. One could certainly see "Coulda Shoulda, Woulda," the loopy fun of "Come Back Again" or the soulful "Can't Build a Better Love" on the big screen as well. This is not the say, however, that there aren't stunning quiet moments as well. DELICIOUS contains two of Jarvis' more poignant songs, "I Miss You Already" and the gorgeous "Mandolin Moon" among all the frivolity. Of course, no Duane Jarvis album would be complete without numerous guest appearances from Jarvis' cadre of friends, many from Nashville. This time around, DJ is joined by Chuck Prophet, Buddy Miller, and Tammy Rogers, in addition to long-time collaborators Dave Coleman (who co-wrote "Mandolin Moon" and who is often a member of Jarvis' band Los Flacos when he's not fronting his own group (The Coal Men), Danny Kurtz and Jarvis' co-producer and partner in crime, George Marinelli. More confident than ever, Duane Jarvis has once again delivered a scorcher of a record that will bear repeated listening. That's what we all call DELICIOUS.