Delving Into Delevante

Columbus and the Colossal Mistake:
A Collection of Songs and Photographs
Bob Delevante
(Relay Records)

Bob Delevante may not be a household name, but his music is reminiscent of two folks you know well: Steve Earle and John Hiatt. While Delevante's latest release, "Columbus and the Colossal Mistake," doesn't achieve the same level of craftsmanship regularly exhibited by those artists, he has put together a 13-track collection of enjoyable roots-pop that could appeal to many Americana fans, not just followers of Earle and Hiatt.

"Columbus and the Colossal Mistake" is accessible and it feels familiar. That's at least partly because of Delevante's voice. He was born and raised in New Jersey, but he sounds like a combination of two Texans: Buddy Holly and Butch Hancock.

And, of course, there's the tunes themselves. Delevante's songs display a mature pop sensibility that should inspire repeated plays. They invite comparisons to Earle's electric work and Hiatt's slice-of-life storytelling without treading into rip-off territory. On the downside, they lack the fire-in-the-belly of Earle's rock offerings and are without the wry, wiseass humor that's all over Hiatt's best.

But enough about what Delevante isn't. He's a capable songwriter and, according to his bio, a photographer of some renown. The camera skills are suggested by the set of photographs that are packaged with "Columbus." As for the songwriting, Delevante shows the ability to frame a picture with his words. On the bouncy title track, which is augmented by banjo, fiddle and pedal steel, he does so by comparing Columbus' accidental discovery of the New World to an accidental but fortuitous meeting with a lady.

On "Circles Around Me," one might at first get the impression that our hero is overwhelmed by love before we discover that he's actually contented by being the father of a baby daughter who "charges like a Sherman tank."

Metaphor is used effectively, too, on "Venice is Sinking," in which it's apparent that more than a city is in danger of going under for the last time.

Sometimes you need to put all the prettiness aside and flat-out rock. Delevante shows he can do that, too, on the swampy "Meadowlark Blues," which features a fairly fierce guitar solo by Buddy Miller.

Miller isn't the only noteworthy guest. Delevante also is helped by Gary Tallent of the E Street Band on bass, the always-excellent Kenny Vaughan handles the guitar duties and everyone's favorite duet partner, Emmylou Harris, contributes backing vocals on "The Things I Long to Hear."

Delevante does have something particularly enjoyable to offer on the disc's last two tracks. One is a cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." It's not notable for it's rock-song-meets-back-porch-jam presentation, which is really getting overused in Americana. Rather, it stands out because it might be the first time that the lyrics have been enunciated so clearly. It gives a fresh perspective to a punk classic.

The final track is a "jawharp mix" of "Texarkana State of Mind," a rollicking redo of the ninth track on "Columbus." It also starts with a brief clip of "Not Fade Away," which does nothing to dissuade the Holly comparison. This is the kind of chance that is rarely taken in Americana, and it's the kind that needs to be taken a little more often lest the genre become too staid.

Steve Earle and John Hiatt have legions of adoring fans. On "Columbus and the Colossal Mistake," Bob Delevante shows that there are fresh discoveries to be made. There should be plenty of room to jump on that jawharp bandwagon.