The Providence Phoenix, Editor’s Pick, June 10, 2011

It’s inspiring when an artist bows out for a while and then bounces back with a truly engaging work. Garland Jeffreys, a journeyman rocker with a lone hit, a throng of New York supporters, and a great sense of optimism, has always received props from critics. But since his mid-’70s heyday, he’s been a hard man to nail down, releasing records intermittently. After a decade-long disappearance to raise a family, he’s back with The King of In Between, an always sturdy and sometimes terrific disc that brims with wisdom and vitality. From the ska’d-up bounce of “Roller Coaster Town” to the Stonesy groove of “The Contortionist,” the tracks resonate with the kind of grizzled exuberance that fits a sixtysomething rocker. Jeffreys’s stylistic influences are as broad as ever. Boogie tunes flecked with zydeco, disco grooves with soul inflections — on “Love Is Not a Cliché,” there’s even some eerie rockabilly. I bet he’ll win you over at the Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, at 8 pm | $23 | 508.324.1926 | ncfta.org