Chris Knight's not-to-be-missed 'Trailer Tapes'/
Let nothing get in the way of a great singer and his song - not excess instrumentation, padded production or distracting backup vocals.

Unfortunately, this stark approach seldom has a say in the slick music industry. But a new release from the arresting singer-songwriter Chris Knight was cut before he ever got signed. His "new" CD, featuring just Knight's voice and an acoustic guitar, was recorded in a decrepit trailer in 1996, back when he had barely played clubs, let alone entered a studio. This Tuesday, "The Trailer Tapes" finally hits stores, and it's something no lover of great American music should miss.

All those who cherish the work of Steve Earle will fall for Knight's husky voice and hard vision. Knight, who has since become a mature Americana cult star, specialized in songs of violence at the start of his career. The "Tapes" CD includes tales of a man you wouldn't want to cross in a bar, a battered woman who finally takes down her abuser and a host of folks reeling from the deforming aftermath of lost loves.

Cold-eyed drifters, crooked yet sentimental cops, and prostitutes who kill their johns are characters in the brutal, deadpan songs of Chris Knight, a country singer from Kentucky whose oeuvre resembles Bruce Springsteen’s album “Nebraska” set in the South. --- Sisario