CD CHOICE: PATTY LARKIN, 25,Signature Sounds ****

It’s a measure of her standing among fellow performers that Wisconsin singer-songwriter Patty Larkin is able to mount such an impressive 25th-anniversary celebration of her craft. To mark a quarter-century of her often extraordinary music, she selected 25 of her favourite love songs and asked 25 of her favourite artists to sing them with her. The result is not simply a trawl through her always interesting take on love, but a revisiting of a life’s work and an appropriate opportunity to take stock of her career.

Larkin turns 59 this June, and the wonder of that is how young and vital she sounds. Born into an Irish-American family of storytellers with an artistic bent, she has behind her a career of constant striving, both to be recognised as a major artist and, crucially, to be an artist who never stands still. The most inspiring artists, she told popmatters.com, were those “who never stopped creating. Picasso. O’Keeffe. My mother, who was a painter all of her life. I think that it takes someone who is focused and driven to continue to evolve and to get up in the morning and do the work.”

The consistent signature of Larkin’s work has been her determination to evoke moods, feelings and themes through an imaginative combination of words, music and exceptional guitar playing. Considering her influences, it is not surprising that her work is painterly, using abstract constructions to tell stories of vivid intensity. Her ability as a guitarist is key to this mood-filled sound.

Her recent albums have been rich, layered affairs with her electric guitar at the centre, but on this double CD she eschews that innovative dynamic for a warmer tone in keeping with the folky concept.

Of the 25 songs, most survive the transition very well; the opening, Lately, with Martin Sexton, seduces from the get-go, while Shawn Colvin's and Larkin's version of her intense Hallelujahis light in comparison with the original. Larkin's simple settings – mostly just her shimmering acoustic guitar – allow the beauty, intimacy and diversity of the 25 voices to work their own magic. Some are more famous than others: Greg Brown, Dar Williams and Mary Chapin Carpenter report for action, as do Chris Smither, Erin McKeown, Suzanne Vega, John Gorka and many more. If Larkin is new to you, treat this as an overdue introduction. If not, join the celebrations. See pattylarkin.com

Download tracks: Lately, Cupid's Knee, Home