Like Michelle Shocked's Arkansas Traveler, the Kennedys' second duet CD was taped with friends they visited on a cross-country jaunt. McGuinn's 12-string Bach variations resound like vintage Byrds, but other talents, like the gospel-singing Dixie Hummingbirds, get obscured. From Steve Earle we hear only mandolin as the buoyant Kennedys keep center stage. Amid their lyrics' hope and carnage, phrases like "Iron fist in a velvet glove, that's the politics of love" make a surprisingly catchy hook.

-- Bruce Sylvester

(The Kennedys play Club Passim next Thursday, June 20.)