In Brief

Love’s road, as Shear navigates it, holds more than its share of potholes, but his achingly lovely melodies, smart lyrical turns and the intertwined voices in these 15 duets--with partners from Paula Cole and Freedy Johnston to Carole King and Margo Timmins--prevent romantic bleakness from becoming all-consuming.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).