Farmers in a Changing World
In 1994 a group of grizzled country and R&B; veterans, led by Steve Ripley (a J.J. Cale and Leon Russell sideman), released a meticulous, bouncy record of neotraditional country and swampy rock that became the fastest-selling platinum album in history. They called themselves the Tractors, and despite a Christmas disc and a few cuts on tribute albums, the band hasn't been heard from since. Their full-length follow-up toThe Tractorsmay be one of the year's best-sounding rock & roll or country albums: the mix all but hurls itself from the speakers and the playing sounds like craftsmen with their professional guard down. There are playful false starts and endings, greasy guitar licks--even some slide from Bonnie Raitt--ebullient piano, and warm, moaning horns. The band slaps its musical wizardry across boogie-based tunes--dance and old rock & roll are the lyrical themes--and the whole feels like a rockin' roadhouse blues album, a renegade homage to country rockers Jerry Lee Lewis and Delbert McClinton, and a joyful, spontaneous slice of American music.--Roy Kasten