Everyone is grateful to have Larry Carlton among us, a gifted and imaginative guitarist who survived a gunman's bullet in 1988. Sometimes, though, we wish the old Larry Carlton were still with us, the spark-spraying fusionist whose nimble flights of fancy electrified recordings by the Crusaders and Steely Dan ("Kid Charlemagne" from Royal Scam) as well his own solo works throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s. The appeal of the smooth-jazz gravy train has defused much of Carlton's incendiary inventiveness, a conviction reinforced by the unruffled textures etched into Fingerprints, Carlton's 20th career recording. Those textures, though, are faithful to the album's apparent intent--to create a velvety-smooth soundtrack for late-night romance. No jarring oddities here, just sweetness and seduction throughout. Guests include smooth-jazz vets Abraham Laboriel, Kirk Whalum on sax, Jerry Hay on horns, Michael McDonald for a lone vocal track ("'Til I Hurt You"), and Vince Gill, who duets transparently on "Gracias." The pick of the litter: the closing track, "Crying Hands," an expressive bit of slow-dance finesse that merits repeated listenings.