Sidelined by a divorce and single fatherhood, Marc Cohn returns to active duty rejuvenated, if recognizably scarred, since the marginal disappointment of his sophomore outing. Burning the Daze strikes closer to the high mark set by his '91 debut, his sultry vocals and well-crafted songs attesting to the set's careful gestation. Guitarist John Leventhal, a not-quite-secret weapon on the prior albums, is officially aboard as coproducer, an apt choice given his contributions to other recent singer-songwriters' studio work, bringing his versatility and musicianship to bear on a solid new clutch of Cohn originals. "Already Home" opens the set with a sleek midtempo groove, Memphis-cured horn riffs, and allusions to Homer and the Wizard of Oz, "Saints Preserve Us" successfully cops from the Band, and "Lost You In The Canyon" transforms a cell phone into an effective metaphor for more primal communication problems.