50-Odd Dollars
There's a peculiar sort of alchemy at work behind Fred Eaglesmith's brand of roots rock. His musical influences are certainly eclectic--a bit of voodoo blues here, someT Bone Burnettthere, not to mention traces of rockabilly, bluegrass, and even the odd nod toTom Waits. But Eaglesmith effortlessly blends them into a seamless, powerful whole that sounds exactly like the sort of music you dream of hearing in some crowded, hot, beery bar near closing time. And that's really the point. For all his influences, Eaglesmith conjures up a truly timeless brand of primitive rock & roll. "Gettin' to Me" manages the amazing feat of fusingDel ShannonandLink Wraywithout sounding dated (think of "Runaway" propelled by reverb-drenched guitar lines), while "Crazier" is the kind of unadorned tearjerker that Nashville hasn't produced since the '60s. And once you hear "Blue Tick Hound," a swampy exercise inZeppelin-esque dissonance, you'd never guess Eaglesmith is considered something of a folksinger.--Percy Keegan