Search - Ray Wylie Hubbard :: Eternal and Lowdown

Real Country

J. D. Edwards | Grapevine, TX USA | 07/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ignore all the useless garbage floating across the big-hat-and-beltbuckle stations across the land and go buy this album instead. Instead of insipid songs about drunken encounters and lost love, you get real emotion squeezed into a jewel case with Ray's spiritual and thought-provoking lyrics throughout. As a bonus, you get real musicianship, from Ray's own well-practiced guitar work, to slide and fiddle played with skillful precision and perfectly meshed into the songs without being over-the-top. Ray's vocals, too, are perhaps the most confident and consistent ever on this recording, and complement the profound and slightly dark edge of many of his songs. Altogether, this is a masterpiece, whether you call it real country, alt-country, or simply the kind of country that I wish the radio would play."

Mississippi Flush

J. D. Edwards | 09/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't add much to Jeff Edwards's terrific review already posted here. But I will encourage readers to pick up this CD at their earliest convenience. The lyrics are thought-provoking, the melodies compelling, and the production expertly accomplished to enhance the mood of the songs. The best news is that although you're apt to enjoy this CD the first time you play it, you'll also be rewarded in surprising ways with each successive listen. It has tremendous staying power. There's a fine line between good and evil, and Hubbard's not afraid to confront that throughout this wonderfully satisfying work."

HUBBARD GETS THE BLUES

Patrick Earley | Edmond, Oklahoma USA | 08/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Eternal and Lowdown" is another fine cd by the country outlaw legend. This one is much more bluesy than any of his other albums. Especially on songs like "SLEEP OF THE JUST", SUGARCANE", and "WEEVILS" which offers up Hubbard's best guitar work on here with some delicious slide playing. "NIGHTTIME" is a slow burner that sounds like it came straight from the Louisiana bayou. It would fit right in on a Tony Joe White album. "DIDN'T HAVE A PRAYER" is a tune he had previously done on his masterpiece album "Loco Gringo's Lament". On this reworking he does it more Memphis R&B style with Ian Mclagan on hammond B3 organ. It's a great song no matter how it's done, and I really like this version of it. The one cover song on here is "BLACK DOG". This one is more traditional country than any song on here, and it's really a catchy tune. It's a country blues song that I first heard on an old Koerner, Ray, and Glover blues album. If you've never heard of these guys, I highly recommend given em a listen. They were three very entertaining white boys from the early 60's who could really play the blues. It's obvious on some of these songs that Hubbard has gone to school on these guys on here, and the results on this album are great!"