Novelist Stephen King writes the admiring liner notes, and the great illustrator Dan Blakeslee creates an unforgettable cover. Yet Cleaves, while always plaintively elegant, doesn’t provide enough of the fun and excitement of his live shows. He is never less than likable, and the Maine-born, Texas-based songwriter starts and ends with power. But the record’s middle is careful, mild and, vocally, a mite tentative. Download: “Beautiful Thing.”