Return of Wayne Douglas
This is probably the last new music we'll hear from Sahm (who recorded an early-1970s country single as Wayne Douglas), and since he began his career as a 13-year-old country singer and steel guitarist, it takes him full circle. The man put his inimitable stamp on everything he did, and this is no exception; shuffling rhythms, crackling guitar, pining steel, and Gypsy-swing fiddle cushion his frayed, weary, dusky vocals. Only Doug Sahm could conceive a putdown of "new country" as sidesplitting as "Oh No! Not Another One," only Doug could doBob Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" the wayRay Pricemight, and only Doug could conjure up lines and imagery ("as the leaves turn backflips on the farm") like those on "Huggin' Thin Air." He'd probably have recut some of these vocals had he been able, and nearly half the tracks are new versions of his old songs, but you can't help but wish the album went on forever.--John Morthland