On his own albums and his contributions to Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham has tried hard to be the next great Texas singer-songwriter: He has the gruff voice, moodiness and melodramatic song titles ("The Poet," "Junky Star"). But on his third disc, his lyrics come off as more cinematic than believable; the title track finds him "sleeping on the Santa Monica pier with the junkies and the stars." There are more interesting moments (the harmonica-driven "The Wandering"), but little of the depth of emotion or eye for detail you get from, say, fellow Texan Billy Joe Shaver.

“Let My Love Open the Door”

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."