Bob Woodruff’s 1994 debut album, Dreams & Saturday Nights, was one of the finest country albums of the ’90s. With songs such as “The Year We Tried To Kill The Pain”, “Poisoned At The Well” and “You Can’t Win”, Woodruff showed himself to be a master of the well-crafted story-song and the honky-tonk lament. But the album sold poorly, and he was dropped by Asylum Records.
Woodruff recorded his new album for the respected Nashville indie Imprint (home of fellow songwriting iconoclasts Gretchen Peters and Al Anderson), which should have made for a good fit. Unfortunately, the songs on Desire Road don’t measure up to the high standards Woodruff set on his debut, and he’s matched them with a sound that’s equally unremarkable.
In what seems a calculated move to appeal to more of a crossover rock audience, the country twang of Woodruff’s debut has been muted in favor of an undistinguished heartland rock sound. Steel guitar is still present, but the dominant sound is smoothed-over jangly guitar rock, mostly absent of the passion and punch that drives the best of that kind of music. Too many of the songs on Desire Road sound like Tom Petty running on empty.
The album begins with a tame version of John Fogerty’s “Almost Saturday Night”, a curious move for such a strong songwriter. (Woodruff wrote every song on his debut.) Even more strange, Woodruff chose to cover not one but two Arthur Alexander songs, and neither of Woodruff’s versions come close to the understated soulfulness of Alexander’s originals.
A number of Woodruff’s new songs betray a similar lack of inspiration. “Out Of The Blue”, “I Want You” and “River’s Edge” are generic tunes that show as much imagination as their titles. In contrast to the debut album’s richly detailed story-songs, the lyrical imagery here is too often plain and cliched. There are exceptions, particularly “That Was Then”, a poignant song about a washed-up star. But overall, in his effort to reach a broader audience, Woodruff has obscured the virtues that made his debut album so special.