James Hand - Shadow On The Ground (2006/2019)

Shadow on the Ground is straightforward honky tonk music, sung with such plaintive comfortable ease by James Hand that it's hard to believe he hadn't made a more prominent living as a recording artist prior to this release, issued when he was in his mid-fifties. While all but one of the songs (a cover of "Mona Lisa") is an original composition, Hand's style itself isn't too original. It's classic honky tonk with no bows to Nashville trends of the previous 30 years, and for that matter no particular influence from more alternative developments in country music during that time. Within those strictures, he's versatile, capable of fast-moving rollers ("The Parakeet"), heart-tugging weepers ("Just a Heart"), numbers with a slight Tex-Mex or country swing feel, and straightforward stompers.