After Johnny Cash died, I parted the dozens of CDs beside my desk like The
Red Sea to find something appropriate to review next. I stopped at Haggard
Like Never Before, the latest release by Merle Haggard. Like a pair of country
music redwoods, The Okie From Muskogee duets with Willie Nelson on “Reno Blues
(Philadelphia Lawyer.)” This swell infidelity yarn is by another American tall
tree, Woody Guthrie. Haggard sticks it to this administration in “That’s The
News,” a gently sung, venomously written song about the White House
declaration that peace has broken out in Iraq. The title track shows many miles on
Haggard’s odometer but his honky tonk tank isn’t anywhere near empty. On Songs For A Hurricane, one of Kris Delmhorst’s tracks reminded me of Mary Chapin Carpenter. That song, “Bobby Lee,” is so bewitching that you know
this Boston-based artist can deliver. This line’s a charmer: “I gotta go out
where the wind can find my face.” That refreshing sensation is one that
Delmhorst’s album provides.

   “Banging Away” is like running a red light late at night when there’s not
a cop in sight. It’s on The Jealous Kind, the latest effort from country
rocker Chris Knight. “Staying Up All Night Long” reveals this talented
Kentucky-based artist is as apt to brood about things as bang away at them. “Long Black Highway” starts off with two good ole boys having a good time but it becomes a crime yarn and then a sudden turn makes it wind up a ghost story. These nifty shifting gears get extra credit points for originality.

   On Dirt On The Angel, Texas-born, ex-Bad Liver Danny Barnes plays funked
up, wiseass bluegrass. It’s old-timey Americana, too, but the eclectic Barnes
also covers Small Faces “Ooh La La” and even Beck’s “Loser.” On “Water
Wagon,” he’s like Levon Helm fronting a British Invasion band. This is juicy stuff
with screws delightfully loose.
   Hoboken, New Jersey’s Meredith Ochs is a music writer with a band, The
Damn Love-lys. Trouble Creek is an easy-on-the-ears mix of pop and twang. “Sparks
Fly” sounds like early alternative rock by Liz Phair and “Another Dark Day”
like Aimee Mann. Instead of just reviewing cool albums, Ochs made one. Isn’t
that damn lovely of her?
   Delgado Brothers’ A Brother’s Dream is a nice mix of Latin soul and
electric blues. These boys alternately sound like Santana and two other local
Latino bands —- The Blazers and (good guess) Los Lobos. I can’t imagine playing
the jacked-up “Betty Sue Boogaloo” without wanting to instantly hit the replay
button. These East L.A. grooves will even make people with West L.A. feet want
to move