Album Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment, (Hint: There Is No C.)

Originally posted at A Truer Sound

It’s been 4 years since Ray Wylie Hubbard’s last album Snake Farm. That album was a massive chunk of blues, county, and rock so greasy the pharmaceutical industry had to start manufacturing Lipitor commercially.* In those 4 years Mr. Hubbard has been pretty damned busy. Touring all over the place, helping Hayes Carll get the attention he deserved, writing a script, getting said script turned into a movie, turning his son Lucas into a genuine guitar slayer, launching a music festival, hosting a weekly radio show, and writing and recording the album I am supposed to be talking about here.

The album takes it’s title from the first song, and while it’s certainly a mouthful of an album title, the song, much like “Knives of Spain” from his 2003 album Growl, sets the tone for the entire album, . And that’s the closest comparison I can make for this album….it’s very reminiscent of Growl’s bluesy grit, groove, and tone as Ray Wylie is so fond of saying. I would venture to say this is his bluesiest effort to date, with greasy slide guitar licks augmented by those mystically poetic lyrics that have become his trademark. In the promo copy that accompanies this album, it states that Ray Wylie once wished he could become a hybid of Guy Clark and John Lee Hooker….an admirable goal to aspire to and one that I for one think he has transcended.

Now let’s talk about some of the songs on here. Currently my favorite is “Black Wings”, which if you’ve watched any of the vids I’ve posted on here you should have heard before. The lyrical imagery of this song just kills me: “fly away on them ol’ wings, black as they may be/shimmering like a leslie and a hammond B-3″ and “trusting in a duo-jet and a 9-volt battery/fly away on them ol’ wings, black as they may be”. He also name drops the Stella guitar in this song….which I’m only mentioning so I can brag that I have one! Another song I want to point out is the lone ballad on this album called “Loose”. This song is the odd man out on this album but it’s so fucking good it’s like finding a chicken nugget in your french fry box. This song is the bait that finally hooks you on this album right before the fire and brimstone of the last three songs kicks in. I’m pretty sure these last three were intended for the Last Rites of Ransom Pride soundtrack, and holy crap are they mood setters. The final song let’s you know it’s THE FINAL SONG. Fans of the show Deadwood should certainly enjoy the final stretch.

Speaking of Hayes Carll who I mentioned a couple paragraphs up, this album also features Ray Wylie’s version of the song “Drunken Poet’s Dream” which he co-wrote with Hayes. Ray’s version strips the song down to it’s essence and while the lyric about paying his student loan seems out of place, Ray still makes you believe every last word of the song with his grizzled voice dancing above the overdriven guitar licks. Rays version made me hear lyrics I had never paid attention to in the song before, and that is why I am such a fan of his music. He doesn’t just sing a song…..he propels the lyrics out of the speakers and into your ears in such a manner that makes it nearly impossible to ignore them. Even with all that amazing guitar work by his son Lucas going on.

Buy Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) here

(download links removed per request, stream the songs here, or stream the whole album here)
Listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard – Black Wings here
Listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard – Loose here

(*while this fact remains to be proven, it should be noted that both hit the market in 2006….coincidence?…)