Various artists

After many seasons toiling in the gardens of the ephemeral, it isn’t surprising when a burned-out rock musician finds solace in the prosaic verities of folk and blues. Like cool water, or like passages from the King James Bible, the loping guitar filigrees and laconic vocal figures of acoustic country blues can renew a worn and weary soul like few other palliatives. The late Mississippi John Hurt, a beatific bard if there ever was one, was a master practitioner of the form. This 15-song tribute features Chris Smither, Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Steve & Justin Earle, Peter Case & Dave Alvin, Ben Harper, Geoff Muldaur, Mark Selby, Beck, Victoria Williams, Bill Morrissey, Taj Mahal, Gillian Welch and John Hiatt, each contributing a sweet little personal homage to Mr. Hurt’s quiet brilliance. On days when the temperature tops the century mark, this album’s good as lemonade.