A diamond in the rough

" ... with A Diamond in the Rough he's back for one last encore, and this intimately produced, 11-track album sparkles brilliantly. The magic derives in large part from a minimalist aesthetic, for these cuts feature only McClain's vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar, embellished on a few tracks with a touch of saxophone and flute. That supporting instrumentation - all performed by co-producer Pat Herlehy - though sparse is profoundly effective at highlighting the expressive possibilities of that mighty voice. Moreover, the stripped-down-to-the-essence sound integrates splendidly not only with McClain's earthy delivery but also with the fundamental messages of the songs, all of which were written or co-written by the singer".