What happens when you grow up listening to Hank Williams and The Beatles? Well, you start making albums that sit easily in both the country music camp and with mainstream rock / folk fans. Even though you have probably never heard of him, Slaid Cleaves has made many fine albums over the years but, for me, this is his piece de resistance.
He has a talent for drawing pictures with words, of people down on their luck, the lovelorn and the lost, yet presents them in wide screen. You know these people; you've passed them on the street, seen them sitting in bars, it may even be you!. There's the tale of love gone astray down at the "Horseshoe Lounge," the worn-down soul pleading for "One Good Year," and the tale of Sandy Gray, a proud Canadian logger who ends up eating "Breakfast in Hell."
Cleaves may be likened to some of his heroes, but Broke Down shows he stands on his own
Broke Down
One Good Year
Breakfast In Hell
Horseshoe Lounge
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