When eminently good and tasteful musicians come together, the results can sometimes be eminently tasteful and underwhelming. In this case, where the musicians are Eddie Vedder, Glen Hansard and Cat Power what emerges is instead a pretty charmful folk-rock-pop record with each of those three distinctive voices coming through clearly.
Chan Marshall does what she does well, and in more organic vein than the glossily orchestrated albums she's been releasing more or less since The Greatest - particular grace notes are the patented simplicity of "I Think of Angels" and the "fuck y'all" refrain of "I Am A Map".
Eddie Vedder's wordless "Rather Be Home" is fairly lovely in its own right, and all the more so for summoning some of Ten's most atmospheric moments all those years past. Indeed, Vedder's gentle folk-inflected contributions are a consistent highlight, bringing to the fore impulses that have been there all along, across Ten, Vs, Vitalogy and so on; "I'll Be Waiting" reminds me of those latter day Robert Plant records. Also there's a faithful cover of R.E.M.'s "Drive".
Best of all is Hansard and Vedder's stately duet "Tender Mercies", though - surprisingly, maybe - the two on which Vedder's daughter Olivia sings, "My Father's Daughter" and "There's A Girl" are up there too.
