"And I believe I fall somewhere in between a lost soul and a romantic
who believes that if we live in forgiveness we die in our dreams."
~ Ray Wylie Hubbard ~

(DejaDisc) That statement pretty much sums up what Ray Wylie Hubbard's music is all about, a poetic mixture of romanticism, religion, philosophy and salvation. The Soper, Oklahoma born Hubbard moved to Dallas with his family in the 50's. Although he's best known as one of the original outlaws, and one of the fathers of the progressive country movement of the early 70's, he started out on the folk scene, hooking up with other musicians such as Michael Martin Murphy and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. He spent most of the 60's with several different bands playing the coffee house circuit. Ray's big break came after meeting up with Jerry Jeff Walker, and penning the song "Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother," which Jerry Jeff recorded on his 1973 album, Viva Terlingua. "Up Against The Wall" became a huge hit, and remains a cult classic today. Unfortunately, it's become the song most associated with Ray, and is the least representative of his work. The song was originally written as a parody, and as sometimes these things go, wound up becoming an anthem. However, it did get Ray widespread recognition, and had Nashville knocking at his door. Ever the rebel though, Ray wanted no part of it, instead forming a band, Ray Hubbard and the Cowboy Twinkies. The Cowboy Twinkies can probably be traced back as being the very first cowpunk band, one minute covering Merle Haggard, and the next, giving a showstopping rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown."

The Cowboy Twinkies proved to be a little too far ahead of it's time, and their brand of music scared off both the country and rock genres. After the Twinkies, Ray floundered around the rest of the 70's and 80's putting out sporadic releases that went nowhere, the last of which was 1984's Caught In The Act. He then disappeared for eight years, during which he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. He resurfaced again in 1992 with Lost Train Of Thought, a self-released/produced effort full of strong songs that attracted some attention. Ray resurfaced again in 1994 with Loco Gringo's Lament.

Loco Gringo's Lament turned out to be Ray Wylie Hubbard's "comeback" album, and was released to massive critical acclaim. It won several awards, including the Kerriville Independent Album of the Year. This time out, Ray came armed with songs so strong, they're nothing short of jawdropping, and he put them, and himself, into the extremely capable hands of Lloyd Maines' production talents. Ray pours every ounce of his heart and soul into his tales of the dusty west, love, lost souls, redemption, and salvation, the melodies ranging from quiet comtemplation to hard edged, driving revenge, mixing his potent brand of country, with touches of blues and rock.

Loco Gringo's Lament opens very strongly right from the start with "The Dust Of The Chase," the dusty western tale of a gambler chasing his thrill, and closes on the same strong note with a song of salvation on the poetic, but world weary "The Messenger." Sandwiched inbetween, Ray demonstrates his romanticism in "Just To Hold You" and "Love Never Dies," steering clear from overly sentimental, sugary, syrupy sweet cliches, in professing his undying love, and instead chooses words that are strong, simple, and straightforward, that would sweep any woman off her feet. "Little Angel Comes A Walkin',"  with it's slinky, blues/rock groove, relays the power the love of a woman holds over a man. That theme is taken to another height on one of the album's highlights, a dark, hard driving, frenzied tale of jealously and murder, in "Wanna Rock And Roll."

Salvation and redemption of lost souls are addressed in the poignant "After The Fall," and "Bless The Souls Of The Lonely," and the outstanding, hard hitting "The Real Trick." The stellar title cut, "Loco Gringo's Lament," paints the unpretty portrait of choosing the life of a musician, the naivete in the beginning as to what the reality really is, then finding out that harsh reality, how easily it can suck you up until you're no longer in control, and how many who've been there, didn't survive it- quite literally. Ray touches on his struggles with addiction on "I've Seen That Old Highway," and the album's strongest and most powerful song, "Didn't Have A Prayer." "Didn't Have A Prayer" is a straight up, slow burn of a blues song, that even after all these years, still stops me dead in my tracks from whatever I'm doing, it's so strong a song both in content and delivery, it commands your undivided attention. The song deals with Ray's battle with alcohol, and he delivers it with the total honesty of a man knowing where he's at, and the gutwrenching desperation of a man so lost, yet truly wants to save himself, and is agonizingly searching for the way out.

Loco Gringo's Lament proved Ray Wylie Hubbard to be both one of the greatest songwriters of our time, and sadly perhaps the most underrated and overlooked. His triumph didn't stop with Loco Gringo, and his string of critically acclaimed albums continues on, bringing him at least some of the recognition long overdue him. He followed up 1994's Loco Gringo with the equally strong Dangerous Spirits in '97, Live At Diablo Creek in 1998, Crusaders Of The Restless Knights in '99, and Eternal & Lowdown in 2001. Some of these releases were put out on small or import labels, however all of them have been re-released, including 1992's Lost Train Of Thought. A new Ray Wylie Hubbard CD is due out in early 2003, tentatively scheduled for a February release. One listen to Loco Gringo's Lament, and you'll soon be snatching up all the others, then counting down the days till his new one comes out.

AnnMarie Harrington Take Country Back November 2002