Working in relative obscurity, '70s Texas songwriting great Ray Wylie Hubbard has resurfaced in the '90s through a series of fine solo albums, beginning with 1992's Lost Train Of Thought and continuing through 1994's Loco Gringo's Lament and 1997's Dangerous Spirits.
Now comes Crusades Of The Restless Knights, Hubbard's best CD to date. Accompanied by a host of Austin's top musicians -- Paul Pearcy, Glen Fukanaga, Stephen Bruton, Lloyd Maines, Terri Hendrix, Patty Griffin, Lisa Mednick -- Hubbard takes listeners on a spiritual journey that manages to remain compelling without becoming preachy.
There's not a weak cut on the album, but one really stands out. The witty talking blues "Conversation With The Devil" recounts a songwriter's dream of descending into hell, where he encounters moms who spank their kids at K-mart, country radio programmers, and other memorable characters. Attempting to curry favor with his tour guide, the writer says he much preferred Satan's fiddle solo to the kid's on the Charlie Daniels song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".
Nearly as powerful is "This River Runs Red", inspired by Flannery O'Connor's short story "The River". Hubbard drives home this tale of baptism with a relentless fire-and-brimstone chorus. Other fine songs include the bluesy "Red Dress" and "The River Bed", the gentle country romp "The Lovers In Your Dreams", and the bluegrass waltz "After The Harvest".
Hubbard's hard-livin' lifestyle may have caused him to sit out much of the 1980s, but Crusades Of The Restless Knights is yet another indication that he's more than made up for lost time.
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