Guess Things Happen That Way
Here's the second album in 26 years by Nashville's enduring maverick and eccentric--a 73-year-old "genius-visionary" in the words of some, and "professional fool" in his own words. It opens with an uptempo version of theStones' "No Expectations" that's eventually goosed along by a soul chorus and horn-like keyboards, and includes Cowboy's own interpretations of songs he wrote that others made famous, most notably the great title song and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" (both associated withJohnny Cash). Anyone who writes "S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y" in this day and age clearly has undeniable love for real country in its various guises, however oddly he chooses to express it, and the accordion-oiled "Drinking Carrot Juice" suggests he probably doesn't care what you think anyhow. Such tracks more than compensate for a couple looney-tunes jazz missteps, and you've got to hand it to someone who sings like Walter-Brennan-only-carrying-a-tune and plays Dobro so sweet and simple.--John Morthland