39 years is a long break between albums. But the Kinkster has busied himself with saving stray animals, writing numerous detective novels, and he even ran for Texas governor in ’06.
When running for office it helps to have good friends in high places, and some would argue you couldn’t get much higher than Willie Nelson, who joins Friedman on the album’s opening track Bloody Mary Morning. Just as you’d imagine from a morning booze session, it sounds perfectly terrible. The instruments (including Nelson’s trademark nylon string guitar) are all over the place, yet the timbre of both voices holds everything together. There are very few singers in the world that could get away with an opening like this, but they nail it.
Tom Waits’ 1978 original Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis features next, with Friedman putting his own stamp on the classic song, enhanced by Mickey Raphael’s sweet mournful harmonica.
If you’re expecting an album full of Friedman and the Texas Jewboys’ rib tickling funnies, you might be disappointed. Gone are the days of They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore and How Can I Tell You Love Me (When You’re Sitting On My Face). The Loneliest Man I Ever Metis the work of a weathered storyteller telling it like it is.
With tracks like I’m The LoneliestMan, the haunting Wild Man, and Merle Haggard’s Mama’s Hungry Eyes, you get the feeling Friedman’s willingness to laugh may have diminished over time. Instead we’re given an album of classic country tunes, played with sombre sincerity, and led by one of the greatest voices to ever come out of the state of Texas.
BY JOHN KENDALL
