Inside

by Steve Matteo Perhaps his best album, Inside represents the peak of all the different skills Rankin brings to his music. Like Silver Morning, it includes some singular and inspired renditions of other artists' music. While John Sebastian's "She's a Lady" is an obvious choice and works well, two other covers truly spotlight Rankin's remarkable ability to interpret other artists. Stevie Wonder's "Creepin'" has all the haunting magic and more of Wonder's original. The real winner, though, is Rankin's take on "Up From the Skies," the Jimi Hendrix song from Axis: Bold as Love. Rankin's guitar work and vocal gymnastics showcase an artist with wide-ranging talents. His own "Lost up in Loving You" and his romantic cover of "Sunday Kind of Love" show his ease with non-rock sounds. This is a near perfect album and as good as '70s singer/songwriter music gets.