Late bloomer Phil Lee’s debut disc grabbed attention in 1999 with its energetic and knowledgeable updating of rockabilly, country and Southern rock. This second entry, as the title song suggests, looks back at the place the experienced rocker had been in the years before that.
There are brand-new twang-rockers, such as the irresistible opener “Good For Me” and the Elvis-meets-Dylan-style “Carl’s Got Louise”, but this one deliberately shows off a wider range of direct influences. (“If it sounds like something, it’s on purpose!” Lee notes.)
There are sounds from the mid-’70s New York pub rock era of Elliott Murphy and Garland Jeffries and Mink DeVille. “Babylon”, with backing by ex-Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett and Wilco bassist John Stirratt, heads right into wailing E Street Band territory, while “Just Some Girl”, with the same backing, heads south to the turf of Tom Petty and Steve Forbert.
Some other Nashville alt-country standard-bearers are along for the ride. “It’s Crazy”, a touching duet with Allison Moorer, channels Roy Orbison via the British invasion. There’s room for more traditional country on the ballad “Faces In The Window”, backed with predictably potent effect by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. In the title track, an acoustic ballad, Lee portrays himself as a former outlaw, gone sweeter but still rocking. Fair enough.
