Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005)

Mark Oliver Everett finally delivers the absolute stone masterpiece fans have always known lurked inside his dour heart. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is ambitious as hell — a two-CD, cradle-to-grave journey through one unlucky man's life. The songs are varied and tremendous: ''Ugly Love'' sounds like Randy Newman with a soul, while ''The Stars Shine in the Sky Tonight'' feels as old and noble as a Stephen Foster standard. Tom Waits and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck stop by, but this is Everett's show all the way, with a measured ascension toward grace that is almost unbearably moving.