The title of this third release from singer-songwriter and in-demand guitar-slinger Duane Jarvis nails it. It contains something tasty from nearly every part of the menu, including ten previously unreleased songs, live versions of three tunes from Jarvis’ 1998 release Far From Perfect (including yet another cut of the Jarvis/Tim Carroll co-write “A Girl That’s Hip”), and even a take on that album’s title track featuring just Jarvis and his Gibson electric during a visit to an Amsterdam radio show.
Combo platter also works as a description of the variety of styles with which Jarvis is comfortable. You can say he makes roots music, but just keep in mind something the late Donald Lindley, a close friend of Jarvis’ and a kindred musical spirit, liked to say: “Our roots extend across the ocean”. That explains “Wedding Day”, which was influenced by Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells A Story according to the extensive Jarvis-penned liner notes, as well as the Bill Wyman tribute “Bill I Don’t Blame You”, a rave-up that sounds like the Blasters doing a Faces impersonation.
From Jarvis’ country-soulful side, there’s “Mr. Dependability” (recorded live at Nashville’s Exit/In), a song on Far From Perfect that would fit seamlessly between Dan Penn and Donnie Fritts on a mix tape. “Ordinary Man” takes galloping rockabilly a la Sun Records and places it in a semi-modern setting, and “Death Takes A Holiday”, dedicated to Lindley, is straight-up rock.
A little something for everybody. Order a platter to go.