A horn section lends Justin Townes Earle's fourth LP a Memphis-soul feel, which is less a departure than a shift in emphasis. Thematically, he continues his chronicle of a life balanced (barely) on the edge. Love is elusive; the legacy of his father, Steve Earle, is a blessing and a curse, and the road exhausts and exhilarates. That Earle breathes life into those well-worn ideas is a tribute to the rough-hewn elegance of his writing and his voice. He recorded this album live in studio, but what comes across is control as much as immediacy. That's because, as always with him, songcraft is a means of conveying and containing emotions that might otherwise be unbearable.

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• Photos: Random Notes

“Is It True”

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."