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Peter Case’s closest brush to mainstream success was with a rock band named The Plimsouls in the early 1980s. The balance of his work, however, has been in the Americana vein, work which has won him critical and cult acclaim if not commercial gain. It does not seem as if he much cares, being more concerned with his artistic merits than his financial. For that, he is worthy of respect and consideration, unlike many of his trustafarian peers who have parlayed what passes for social consciousness into a tee-shirt franchise.

Which brings us to LET US NOW PRAISE SLEEPY JOHN, Case’s latest and arguably best release. The title may be somewhat misleading, if not intentionally so. This is not a collection of covers of Sleepy John Estes songs, as one might (reasonably) assume; indeed, only “Get Away Blues” is an Estes’ tune. One forgets that virtually every folk singer of the 1960s, from Bob Dylan to Phil Ochs to Eric Andersen attributed major influence to Estes. Case has the benefit of influence of both, and it shows, particularly on the first three tracks of LET US NOW PRAISE SLEEPY JOHN. More on that in a minute. The overall feel of the disc is that of a field recording, with Case captured with guitars and vocals, no frills except for an occasional guest here and there. “Every 24 Hours, ” in that spirit, features Richard Thompson on guitar and backing vocals, quietly demonstrating the link between country blues and Celtic folk. The star turn, however, is all Case’s whose stark lyrics about time and distance and yearning are riveting and memorable and haunting. It is “Million Dollars Bail,” however, that is particularly chilling. “Million Dollars Bail,” which deals with the (unnamed) Phil Spector murder trial, has as its spiritual twin Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” for all of the right and wrong reasons, but its imagery is sharp and stark. Case even manages a passable cover of “Get Away Blues,” without sounding like a lost boy lost in the blues.

It is amazing --- and a tribute to Case’s deep well of talent, on which has yet to be plumbed --- that one can listen repeatedly to LET US NOW PRAISE SLEEPY JOHN and still hear new things each time, notwithstanding the spare nature of the guitar vocal arrangements. This is a beautiful piece of work from front to back, from beginning to end.