John Stuart Airdream Believer CD

Airdream Believer started out as a career retrospective and reconsideration by John Stewart, devoted to his own songs plus a few he really dug (like Johnny Cash's "Get Rhythm" and Billy Edd Wheeler's "The Reverend Mr. Black"), before it turned into something more.

The music dates back, in some cases, to his days with the Kingston Trio, performed with Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Nanci Griffith, Sara Hickman, and his former Kingston Trio bandmates Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane.

Stewart is in excellent voice throughout, a husky baritone closer in spirit to Bruce Springsteen than to the Kingston Trio; the mix of songs is quirky enough, and the reconsiderations of the songs fresh enough, to prevent this from being a mere exercise in nostalgia.

"Lost Her in the Sun," "Midnight Wind" (with Rosanne Cash on the harmonies), and a moody "Daydream Believer" (with Griffith) are major highlights, but the entire recording is worthwhile, and the presence of the guest artists is not just a gimmick.