Alvin's taste is impeccable, his intentions entirely noble, but he sounds intimidated throughout the album -- a prisoner of history rather than a pathfinder to the past, handling the songs like he's cradling a rare 78. His interpretations are reverent, and at moments his band comes close to shattering Alvin's stifling piety. But ultimately Public Domain is a pointless, laborious lesson in the roots of popular American music. If that's what you're looking for, fine. All others are advised to grab the Anthology of American Folk Music boxed set and anything you can find by Blind Willie McTell, the Carter Family, or Woody Guthrie. Then start digging.