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David Ryan Harris (57/Columbia) (star) (star) (star)
Equally enamored of the Beatles’ “Revolver” and Stevie Wonder’s “Talking Book,” Harris blends the Beatles’ paisley-era pop with Stevie Wonder’s spiritually striving soul on his impressive, if uneven, debut. His flower-child leanings sometimes get the better of him, as Harris approaches the funk-rock bombast of — yikes! — Lenny Kravitz on “King Karma,” and several ballads drift off into drowsy hippie bliss. “If I Had a Dime,” though, is utterly lovely, and Harris has an undeniable knack for wedding psychedelic guitar parts with bouncy funk grooves and Wonder-ful melodies. The results range from delightful (“Six Feet Off the Ground”) to transcendent (“Change”), and herald a new artist brimming with creativity.