Shaver
The Earth Rolls On
New West

With Johnny Cash-esque vocals and an unbelievably sad story behind the album, this one wins. Billy Joe Shaver wrote the title track to this album for his wife who passed away in 1999 after a lengthly sickness. Just over a year later, Billy Joe's son, Eddy died unexpectedly on the last day of 2000. This album is full of good songs and great songs. It's a nearly perfect mix of Southern Rock and Acoustic Gospel music with a deep voice to finish the package. And to top it all off, Garry Tallent of the E Street Band and Jay Bennett and Ken Coomer of Wilco are all over this album. It's not as good as my current favorite New West release (Tim Easton's The Truth About Us), but it's a close second.

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