Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Walk Alone (2001)

Mark Stuart -- sounding here like a younger Waylon Jennings -- has the kind of dusky, throaty growl perfectly suited for singing this kind of Bakersfield honky tonk country-rock. As a songwriter, however, he's meandering down that same wagon wheel-worn path that his outlaw forebears have already tread down to the ground 'til there's nothing left but dust-filled ruts. While there's certainly nothing wrong for replicating the Telecaster-and-pedal steel twang of a much loved subgenre (Dwight Yoakam and Chris Isaak, on occasion, have made attempts to keep it alive among younger listeners), there's nothing original being added here to it either. Stuart's lyrics cover much the same imagery and topical narrative; it must be a requirement for honky tonkers to write about trains, for instance, even though it's doubtful that many bands use them today as means of transportation. The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash's cover of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" has a nice loping feel, and one of Stuart's own, "Texas Sun," rolls along like a semi with rambling guitars and a kicking drumbeat, but this has all been heard before. While he certainly can turn a phrase about "putting the hammer down" on the road ("Interstate Cannonball") or thinking about a woman he left behind but is still on his mind ("Memphis Woman"), the Bastards' next outing should find a way to say what hasn't been said before.