Customer Reviews

Eats Away the Night

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Butch Hancock probably sounds more like Bob Dylan than anyone else in my "dylanites" series. That doesn't sound good -- being simply derivative is rarely a virtue. But like the others in the series, Butch is wonderfully creative and not simply an epigone -- you quickly see that he has his own unique vision, even as he occasionally turns a strongly Dylanesque vocal phrase, as in "Moanin of the Midnight Train".

I met Butch once, and took a look at his amazing organic architectural sketches -- clearly the product of a fevered imagination. The closest thing to that unfettered creativity here is "Pumpkineater," a song of recrimination and vaguely supernatural menace. There are versions of "If You Were a Bluebird" and "Boxcars," covered so well by Joe Ely; the great, simple lyric to "Junkyard in the Sun"; and the closer, "Eats Away the Night," (time, that is), which almost pushes this album to 5 stars all by itself.

Butch Hancock is the Bob Dylan of Texas. There is nothing better than Butch live. And recordings of Butch live never quite match the live experience. But this (non-live) album tops all recorded events to date. Unquestionably the best version of "If You Were a Bluebird" I've heard.