Dave Stewart is so beloved by the music industry that this British art-rock refugee can decide to settle into Nashville -- Music City USA, the home of country music -- and still be embraced by everybody he meets. An outsider might be perplexed by this acceptance, but 2017's
The Nashville Sessions: The Duets, Vol. 1 -- a record that may never engender a sequel and whose title is equally disingenuous, as so many of the selections are about the recording location, not the sound associated with Nashville -- shows that he knows how to host a party, to create an atmosphere where superstars and those on the rise can let it all hang out. Both camps are equally represented here -- the album opens up with
Alison Krauss and
Martina McBride before descending into the unknowns of
Diane Birch and
Jesse Baylin -- and
Stewart is happy to showcase soft rockers like
Colbie Caillat,
Stevie Nicks, and his
SuperHeavy bandmate
Joss Stone as he is country-rockers like
the Secret Sisters. On paper, it sounds eclectic, but
The Nashville Sessions: The Duets, Vol. 1 feels pretty homogenous because it is, after all, a producer's album. It is a showcase for
Stewart's skills, a display of how he can make a diverse cast of characters sound unified, how he sands down quirks and turns country into pop. The fact that he succeeds is a detriment: There's no focal point, it's just finely honed product designed to please a crowd that may not exist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine