Roger "Hurricane" Wilson doesn't play like a hurricane, but more like a warm southern breeze through the Florida Palm leaves. This album focuses on a Folk/Country sound with a dash of Blues and the combination sounds really good. Wilson has a smooth guitar style that fits him like a glove. The rhythm section of Michael Traylor on drums and Randy Barnhill on bass supply a steady-rolling beat on every song in perfect support. The guitar and vocals are the leading instruments with the others following without stepping on the leader's feet.

Wilson covers four songs from songwriters and musicians he has appreciated through the years. Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" is given an excellent reading. The vocals complement the guitar and the percussion shuffles on the laid-back beat. This is one of my favorite Dylan songs and it has a properly rambling feel here honed from Wilson years on the road. June Carter and Merle Kilgore wrote an obscure song that is covered here (all sarcasm there). "Ring of Fire" is cooled down here and the song has a kicked-back feel that is totally opposite from the great Johnny Cash/June Carter version. It sounds great.

Wilson then goes for some finger workouts on Doc Watson's "Doc's Guitar'" a fun guitar rag that makes my fingers tired just listening to it. Wilson is right on the money. Te last of the covers is a tip of the hat to another Merle, Merle Haggard. Wilson sings like a true troubadour on "The Way I Am." He takes this song like the others and makes it his own; he is comfortable in his own style and knows where he wants to go each step of the way.

As for his own songs, the opening track, "How Much is Enough?" takes a poke at the American way of the bigger is better. He points out in the notes that it is aimed at corporate America. The song is a great piece of writing. There is the instrumental "Blue Heaven" that fits its song title, a calm, peaceful retreat in the open, sunny blue skies.

"My Heart Can't Stand One More Goodbye" sounds like a Merle Haggard song. A slow ballad of heartache with Bobby Kennedy adding the pedal steel guitar. The rocking-chair beat that tells the story of "I Got Chased by a Three Legged Dog" is an opener for a classic song. Now I've had bad days, but this will make those bad days seem better. "The Drive-in Picture Show" is a reverence to an icon of America's past. Another very well composed song.

The album is extremely laid back with a lot of feeling. As laid back as the album is, it would have been easy to loose the feel, but Wilson played everything as it should have been on this album. The guitar work is controlled and played with taste. The vocals are deep and rich to complement the mostly acoustic guitar strings. This album uses all of these qualities to create moods and feelings that you will remember and look forward to playing again.

Kyle M. Palarino is a contributing editor at BluesWax

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