Ghost Writer, Garland Jeffreys‘s first album since 1972, turns out to have been worth the wait. Comfortable with reggae, hard rock, and a variety of other styles, he writes intelligent,  evocative laments about city life and old film stars. Best cuts: “Wild in the Streets,” a passed-over 1973 single that combines the temperament of the Stones’ “Hot Stuff” with the urban landscape of Springsteen’s “Jungleland”; and “Spanish Town,” an atmospheric, nearly eight-minute tale that is beautifully sung, lyrically rich, and musically inventive.

The album is available here.