Butch Hancock

In Texas, where the song is king, Butch Hancock is both poet and jester, bringing a wry literary sensibil-ity rooted in traditional folk and country. With Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, he's one of the found-ing members of the Flatlanders -- alternative-country godfathers who bonded in the late '60s over wide-ranging interests in Eastern philosophy, Beat literature, and Mad magazine as much as the music of Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and the Beatles. They recorded one highly influential album, later issued as More a Legend Than a Band, before scattering for solo careers.

Hancock, who grew up on a farm outside Lubbock, was the Flatlanders' primary songwriter, and his solo debut, West Texas Waltzes & Dust-Blown Tractor Tunes, is focused more on songs than sonics. His craggy singing, acoustic guitar strumming, harmonica tooting, and foot stomping are raw as a West Texas wind, and the songs update the Americana tradition of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Woody Guthrie, early Dylan, and Hank Williams Sr.

The Wind's Dominion and Diamond Hill flesh out but don't overpower the songs with band arrangements orchestrated by pedal-steel virtuoso Lloyd Maines. Firewater . . . Seeks Its Own Level is even better, with Hancock fronting a small combo in a club setting that suits his off handed gifts. Own & Own, Own the Way Over Here, and Eats Away the Night rely on older songs, some of which (the political commentary "Talkin' About That Panama Canal") sound dated. But the sharper production values on Eats Away lead to definitive versions of Hancock classics such as "Boxcars" and "If You Were a Bluebird."

You Coulda Walked Around the World brings Hancock full circle, back to the sparse country-folk of his debut. The back-cover image depicts Hancock pondering life alongside sculptures of Socrates and Stan Laurel, and it's a fitting snapshot of his music. Between those two sensibilities, the songwriter stakes his claim as a true Texas original. (GREG KOT)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide