Being a ramblin’ man has been reduced to something of a cliché ever since Hank Williams expressed his ambivalent attitude about his own proclivities back in the ‘50s. But the feelings behind the concept are timeless as Chris Knight proves on his stirring sixth album.Label: Drifter’s Church
[Rating: 3 1/2 stars]
Being a ramblin’ man has been reduced to something of a cliché ever since Hank Williams expressed his ambivalent attitude about his own proclivities back in the ‘50s. But the feelings behind the concept are timeless as Chris Knight proves on his stirring sixth album. “I’m a homesick gypsy,” he moans on the opening track and by the closing “Go on Home,” twelve songs and a lifetime later, this grizzled road warrior seems ready to put down some roots. The Yahoos’ Dan Baird returns as producer/guitarist to flesh out these gruff yet introspective country rockers. The result is Knight’s finest, most affecting set of swamp infested, blue-collar gems. One informed by Hank Sr.’s vulnerability as much as John Fogerty’s unflinching eye for heartland Americana detail.