ALBUM REVIEW : ‘Red-Eyed & Blue’ Should Stamp Hart a Superstar

SAN DIEGO — Calman Hart’s new CD “Red-Eyed & Blue” is so impressive in its breadth and so stamped with personality that it could almost single-handedly tilt the local music scene toward Nashville.

The best songs are as strong as or stronger than any you’ll hear from country superstars like Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Ricky Van Shelton, and Hart’s soft-pedaled baritone complements their effortless grace. More than any other contemporary idiom, country requires of its practitioners a certain adherence to basics, and Hart is deft at folding concise, engaging melodies and inventive chordal shadings into his songs without threatening their traditional flavor.

The following are songs from the album that have the potential to be hit singles.

“Honey, Don’t Scuff These Boots” (inspired by a trek across New York’s Central Park after a day of boot-shopping) is a witty, fiddle-fueled toe-tapper about new footwear too expensive for comfort.

“Dirty Trouble” is a jaunty tune about a man trying to resist falling prey to the “Lolita” syndrome--sort of the country analog of Sting’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” An uncluttered arrangement typical of the album provides a fine setting for the song’s infectious chorus.

In “One Man’s Love Song”--one of the first songs Hart ever wrote--James Taylor meets George Jones with lovely results.

“Break My Heart Gently” (inspired by Hart’s infatuation with Emmylou Harris) is a mid-tempo ballad whose melodic nuances and harmonic turns gently tighten the tune’s dramatic ropes without interfering with its narrative momentum.

“A Vampire Got My Baby (A Cheatin’ Song)” isn’t the throw-away its title might suggest. Mildly spooky lyrics and eerie-sensual, Chris Isaak-like production values make it a standout cut.