Bill Janovitz – Lonesome Billy (Beggars Banquet)
Recorded over three days, Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom has produced the best work, so far, of his career. With rhythm section Joey Burns and John Convertino, the bassist and drummer with Giant Sand, “Lonesome Billy” explores that part of America frequented by saddle-bums and skeletal Longhorn, where tequila is drunk in dark bars and Sam Peckinpah offers the only meaningful direction.

Pedal steel, harmonica and piano weave in and out of these gritty country tunes leaving the taste of Arizona dust in the mouth and a sense of yearning tugging at the heartstrings. It would be nice to think that the rest of Buffalo Tom could be steered in the same direction.

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