Given Douglas' range, it's no surprise to hear him leapfrog from the Allman Brothers' acoustic classic "Little Martha" to Bill Frisell's modal jazz composition "Lookout for Hope" to the frenetically paced jamgrass barn burner "Cave Bop." Also, the two vocal offerings on the disc epitomize the kind of subtle, sublime support Douglas has lent to so many singers, from Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss to Paul Simon and Ray Charles. Unfortunately, Hope becomes a disjointed and disconnected affair that fails to commit to any of these styles. That's not to say Douglas' talent must be corralled into any single style, but Hope suffers from a lack of focus that makes it more a sampler than a statement.
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