Mr. Carter, a North Carolina native, fills his score with evocations of blues, hymns, gospel and jazz.
Another bracing comparison is the overall evocation of pale blue water, which fills the fan of Judy Mensch of Manhattan, contrasted with the more rugged, hallowed marine subject of rocks and sea drawn by Danielle Thompson of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
And when he quietens down, you really start to feel like you are being treated to a masterclass in American folk sounds, from the percussive yet melodic banjo country of Underneath a Blue and Cloudless Sky to Whiskey Ballad's gorgeous evocation of the fluid 30s blues of Mississippi John Hurt.
That evocation was occasionally distracting — though not, paradoxically, on "Blue in Green," a ballad from Davis's album "Kind of Blue".
Green pastures, sleek white blades, blue sky a pleasing evocation of the extraterrestrial and the ecologically sound.
More-talented writers whose novels reflected the influence of Carver in their evocation of the downbeat world of the blue-collar male included Richard Ford (Rock Springs [1987]), Russell Banks (Continental Drift [1984] and Affliction [1989]), and Tobias Wolff (The Barracks Thief [1984] and This Boy's Life [1989]).
Lavenders opens to a fiddle drone and an evocation of the 17th-century folk song 'Lavender Blue' but morphs brilliantly into a double-tracked vocal in which swimming and sexual passion entwine.
But even these aren't up to snuff: Harrison's Blue Jay Way, a distracted evocation of staying up late in LA, is notable only for the fact it repeats the line "Don't be long" 29 times.
Best regarded of these were "Blind Willie McTell", a tribute to the dead blues musician and an evocation of African American history, "Foot of Pride" and "Lord Protect My Child".
"The Blue Lantern" is a magical evocation of childhood wonder.
