Texas Week – Ray Wylie Hubbard

This week I am highlighting some new and upcoming releases that are exclusively out of my home-state. I know I mention bands that call the Lone Star State home relatively often, but this week I am making it a point to really be obnoxious about it…

 Ray Wylie Hubbard (Official / Myspace) is basically a legend ’round these parts. I am not breaking new ground by letting you know that this bluesy, grizzled veteran is a hero to many younger artists. His new CD, A, Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is No C) showcases the reasons why he is so revered by the new generation of Texas song-smiths. While certain upstarts like Hayes Carll have worked with Hubbard and perhaps become more well-known nationally (maybe), I will say that Hubbard’s more rocking, moody version of the song he co-wrote with Carll, “Drunken Poet’s Dream” is the version I prefer over Carll’s.

Besides having possibly the oddest title of the year, the new record is a tight collection of sparsely produced gems. The album possesses serious doses of Gothic country (“Down Home Country Blues”), dirty blues (“Wasp’s Nest”) and soul-scorching gospel (“Whoop & Holler”). With nearly a dozen studio albums to his credit over many years, Hubbard refuses to take the easy, direct path lyrically. The title track is an ominous, brimstone filled tribute to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. Basically, Ray Wylie Hubbard is rightfully the artist so many hope to be when they grow up.

LISTEN: Ray Wylie Hubbard – “A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C)”

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Tags: Hayes Carll, Ray Wylie Hubbard