Ben Vaughn Combo: Beautiful Thing (1987)

Ben Vaughn has long been one of the great traditionalists of the modern age, mining the humble sounds of '50s rock & roll and rockabilly and country and giving them a fresh (but not too fresh) sheen. His stripped-down musicality and heart-on-his-sleeve lyrical guilelessness at times resembles Jonathan Richman, but without the wild-eyed childlike whimsy.

1987's Beautiful Thing is one of his earliest full-length releases, back before he dropped the "Combo," and it's a work of unassuming joy. It sou...