His airy, pure tenor, superb taste in songs from other writers, and wide-ranging knowledge of different pop styles have carried this journeyman English singer and songwriter from the folk rock of the original Fairport Convention, to his own brief chart notoriety as leader of Matthews Southern Comfort, and subsequent experiments all sharing high standards but relative obscurity. This well-chosen summation of his mid-"70s L.A. sojourn captures Matthews"s folk and country-rock work of the day to satisfying effect, mingling gourmet covers (Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Michael Nesmith, Steve Young, Paul Siebel, and Jackson Browne) with his own lissome, mournful, yet gracious originals. A neglected country-rock master, his take on Young"s "Seven Bridges Road" was good enough for the Eagles to steal it virtually note for note on their first live album, and he celebrated former bandmate Thompson"s brilliance more than a decade before his "discovery" by critics. --Sam Sutherland