A nice return to form. An albumful of modern pop covers (John Lennon, Simply Red; Bryan Ferry! Prince!) could have turned into a misguided attempt at hipness (which is how I felt about him doing the Talking Heads "Heaven" on the last album). But instead of a hipster irony that gives him little emotional substance to hold onto, these songs convey the kind of romantic regret and wistfulness that he does so well: "Jealous guy", "The Crying game," the title track and especially "Nothing compares to you," which I knew was going to work before I even heard it.

Instead of the crack band of all-stars who seemed mismatched on -Heaven-, Jimmy is backed by his own touring band: Hilliard Greene on bass, Victor Lewis on drums, Michael Kanan on piano, musicians who've known him for years and can lay just the right unobstrusive, sympathetic pulse. Thumbs up!