**1/2 Jules Shear

ALLOW ME

(Zoe/Rounder)

With a two-decade career behind him (during which he penned "All Through the Night" for Cyndi Lauper), Jules Shear remains a singer/songwriter with an obvious knack for assembling attractive patchworks of words, melody, and rhythm. Apart from the occasional flash of inspiration, however, Allow Me's smooth, rootsy pop is emotionally and musically dull. Better moments include the closing "Too Soon Gone," a ballad written with Stan Szelest as a lament for departed Band pianist Richard Manuel and originally meant for an '80s Band recording. Elsewhere, Shear's flat, nasally drawl dubs just about everything with the same dusty Americana flavor, and the monotony is furthered by mainly mid-tempo lolloping rhythms. A few sparks are generated when Shear teams with backing vocalists Susan Cowsill and the Bangles' Vicki Peterson for the swinging R&B number "Deep"; and his harmonies with Suzy Roche on "Just Another Railroad Train" (a delightful country song that doesn't settle for middle-of-the-road blandness) generate some excitement.

-- Linda Laban