Rating: NNN
It would be a terrible shame if radio writes off Shawn Mullins as a one-hit wonder (remember Lullaby?), thus exiling him back to the relative obscurity he lived in for years before having the aforementioned bust-out hit. In addition to possessing a warm, expressive voice, Mullins writes acutely observational songs that comfortably fall inside the parameters of pop/rock but with touches of country, folk and soul. Beneath The Velvet Sun also benefits from assists by Shawn Colvin and Shelby Lynne, but this is Mullins’s show. Anyone who bought the last studio record on the strength of the single should take a leap of faith here. It’ll be rewarded.
