Love Is Greater Than Me by Chris Duarte

Chris Duarte has been many things during his career: Stevie Ray Vaughan heir apparent, psychedelic blues-rocker, light-speedy guitar god. For his third album, Duarte presents a new incarnation. It's a lot like his previous ones, but with an added spiritual element that usually comes later in an artist's career. So there are a few introspective pieces here--particularly "Azul Ezell" and "Metaphor (Acoustic)"--and a number of efforts at experimentation. One of these is "Metaphor (Electric)," which arrives just a few years too late for the grunge era. Another is "How Long," with Duarte doing his best to sound like Howlin' Wolf. Where does all this leave us? Well, it's a good album, and there's no doubting Duarte's proficiency or his sincerity. It seems, though, that he's still looking for his own voice. Once he can bring his considerable musical arsenal to bear on that, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. (Genevieve Williams) ℗ 2000 Rounder Records., Distributed by Concord.