by Cub Koda
Here's a homemade album that totally hits the spot. Buddy Miller cut
this twangy little masterpiece at his home studio, enlisting the aid of
friends who dropped by to help out on various tracks. The end result,
which normally would make a nice-but-disjointed demo tape, ends up being
the freshest new country album to hit the boards in a while. Miller plays
tasty lead guitar fills that fit like a glove with his vocals, no matter
what the material. He has a world-weary, whiskey-soaked voice, full of
crazed hillbilly nuances that are on open display, even on left-field
entries like Gene Pitney's "I'm Gonna Be Strong," turned into
a modern country radio-ready tearjerker.Along the way, Emmylou Harris,
Joy Lynn White, and Steve Earle make guest appearances. But it isn't the
guests that make Cruel Moon so special; it's Miller's commitment to the
material at hand, whether it's an old favorite or something he and his
wife, Julie Miller, wrote together; like the lilting title track or "In
Memory of My Heart," which sounds like it was recorded in an old-time
radio station. There's so much personality coming off of this disc, it
takes you awhile to realize that Miller's no young chicken, with a receding
hairline that'll surely keep him out of whatever new hat-hunk meat-factory
sweepstakes is currently dominating country music. Bypass such fashion
front-running and make a beeline straight for this disc; it's as real,
honest, and forward looking a country album as you're likely to encounter
in these image-encrusted times.
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