Wanderlust Diaries [Audio CD] KARLZEN,MARY

As the title indicates, Mary Karlzen's fifth album finds her covering a lot of territory--in terms of theme, memory, and musical expanse. On both the opening "For One Moment" and the closing "Stay Forever," her vocal intimacy backed only by a solo piano makes her sound like a graduate of the Joni Mitchell school of '70s singer-songwriters. Yet the harder-rocking "Oh My" (on which Karlzen even threatens to smash her guitar), the somber cello that colors "Show Me," and the coming-of-age reverie "Sixteen" take her well beyond the folk circuit, while a couple of choice covers show an even wider range of influence. With pedal steel, the Mavericks' rhythm section, and vocal harmony from Garrison Starr, Karlzen takes the Replacements' "Skyway" on a trip south, while her duet with Matthew Ryan on "Heart of Saturday Night" transforms Tom Waits's ballad into a country tune. Karlzen shares liner notes from the road for each cut (though this is a studio album), with "Friends Along the Way" reinforcing the sense that the song cycle reflects the gains, losses, and lessons of the veteran troubadour's life. --Don McLeese