John McVey

While some people can bang out an album in a weekend, it took singer-songwriter John McVey a decade to make his third solo effort, Unpredictable. In between producing and engineering hundreds of other people's albums at Boulder's Coupe Studios, he took his time crafting the songs and recording them. Not only does Unpredictable sound remarkable, but the album feels unhurried. A lot of time was spent on making each track as good as the next, from gospel-tinged opener "A Little More Time," which features some first-rate backing vocals from Jonatha Brooke, to the multiple vocal layers on the album's closer, "Lay Your Burden Down." While McVey, who was once named the National Academy of Songwriters' Artist of the Year, is obviously a talented writer, arranger and producer, he's also a damn fine singer who at times recalls Marc Cohn. Unpredictable is an outstanding effort and well worth the wait.