The Best of Jim Ringer
Jim Ringer has finally been returned to us, thanks to this recent Rounder compilation.  Ringer, who died of hard living in 1992, started out in California string bands, and honky tonk and folk gatherings in the 60s, and his recordings have the sometimes bruisy, sometimes sweet feel of Guthrie, Owens, and Haggard.  This set has most of his finest compositions: especially haunting is the drifter's vision "Tramps and Hawkers," an archetypal melody given to a tale of desire and wanderlust, with the sweep and detail of Guthrie's best work.  From outlaw to new traditionalist to singer-songwriter, Ringer neither prefigured nor established any important country direction, but his music encapsulates them all.--Ray Francis Kasten