In the early "90s Peter Mulvey was as a Boston subway busker, selling a pair of self-made CDs and making change out of his guitar case. But after garnering top honors in the 1994 Boston Acoustic Underground competition, his career rose above ground. An accomplished yet complex guitarist, and a dark, descriptive songwriter, Mulvey delivers it all with a charred, playful voice and in a variety of tempos and instrumentation (including a trademarked Tom Waits on "Bright Idea"). Jennifer Kimball and Chris Smither add vocal accompaniment along the way. The album"s high points, however, remain the sparsely arranged numbers, such as the mandolin-accented "You Meet the Nicest People in Your Dreams," the Dylan-like "Wings of a Ragman," and the solo acoustic closer, "Home." --Scott Holter