Larry Hosford’s two mid-’70s albums for Shelter, AKA Lorenzo and Crosswords, are among the great unsung alternative country albums of their era. The latter featured George Harrison and Leon Russell on several tracks. On those albums, the California-based singer evoked the spirit of Lefty Frizzell, to which he added a wry, self-deprecating sense of humor. Hosford combined catchy melodies with witty lyrics, and when he sang of heartache, his voice sounded as if he had a lump lodged firmly in his throat. His music had an intangible, bittersweet quality that was heartrending while simultaneously eliciting a smile.
After the Shelter albums, Hosford seemed to disappear from sight, until he showed up in 1996 on the small Shop Records label with Right On Time. It was a reasonably strong comeback that included some good material, such as an oblique tribute to Frizzell and another to Willie Mays.
He’s back again with Windjammin’, its title hardly presaging good honky-tonk material. The fact that the country element has been toned down isn’t really a problem, but there are a few throwaway cuts and missteps in production. The packaging is also somewhat lacking, with only the musicians’ first names listed. Still, even without the usual anthems for losers, Windjammin’ does include tracks that are on a par with Hosford’s earlier material.
Plans are apparently in the works to redo the two Shelter albums with as many of the original musicians as possible.