Crusades Of The Restless Knights

Amazon.com's Best of 1999
Once a staple of the Texas "Outlaw" songwriter scene, Ray Wylie Hubbard has moved beyond that scope in the 1990s with a series of highly literate and provocative records. Crusades may just be the best of the lot, filled with bold, inquisitive lyrics and wrapped in understated but vibrant country-folk settings. --Marc Greilsamer

Amazon.com
Nearly titled Ten Zen Sins, Ray Wylie Hubbard's second Rounder release extends and deepens the spiritual tug-of-war of his mature, postoutlaw work. Starting with the thunderous, folk-rock curse of "Crows," the album moves through tent-revival grooves, barrelhouse odes to red dresses, bottleneck meditations on plane wrecks, spare talking blues, elliptical ballads, and bluegrass-laced messages of hope. Rather than offer platitudes or pat answers, Hubbard tests the mysteries he finds with always one more intense temptation, one more unsettling question. Such is Hubbard's dense lyrical vision, and his musical settings are just as telling. For the first time he coproduces with Lloyd Maines, emphasizing the sounds of cutting slide guitar, Dobro, and mandolin and accenting his melodies with female harmony from Patty Griffin, Lisa Mednick, and Terri Hendrix. At a time when many singer-songwriters are courting the adult-contemporary audience with safe, pop-oriented fare, Hubbard's lyrical crusade remains tense, chancy, and remarkably wise. --Roy Kasten

Tracks:

Crows
There Are Some Days
The Lovers In Your Dreams
Conversation With The Devil
Red Dress
The River Bed
This River Runs Red
After The Harvest
Airplane Fell Down In Dixie
The Messenger

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Once a staple of the Texas "Outlaw" songwriter scene, Ray Wylie Hubbard has moved beyond that scope in the 1990s with a series of highly literate and provocative records. Crusades may just be the best of the lot, filled with bold, inquisitive lyrics and wrapped in understated but vibrant country-folk settings. --Marc Greilsamer

Amazon.com

Nearly titled Ten Zen Sins, Ray Wylie Hubbard's second Rounder release extends and deepens the spiritual tug-of-war of his mature, postoutlaw work. Starting with the thunderous, folk-rock curse of "Crows," the album moves through tent-revival grooves, barrelhouse odes to red dresses, bottleneck meditations on plane wrecks, spare talking blues, elliptical ballads, and bluegrass-laced messages of hope. Rather than offer platitudes or pat answers, Hubbard tests the mysteries he finds with always one more intense temptation, one more unsettling question. Such is Hubbard's dense lyrical vision, and his musical settings are just as telling. For the first time he coproduces with Lloyd Maines, emphasizing the sounds of cutting slide guitar, Dobro, and mandolin and accenting his melodies with female harmony from Patty Griffin, Lisa Mednick, and Terri Hendrix. At a time when many singer-songwriters are courting the adult-contemporary audience with safe, pop-oriented fare, Hubbard's lyrical crusade remains tense, chancy, and remarkably wise. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

New sounds for me to hear.......2007-02-24

I am always looking for an artist that I have not heard. I almost always buy music thar comes from singer songwriters. Ray Wylie Hubbard is new to me and I am sure he will cause my cd collection to grow even larger. This cd is gutsy, gravely and I think inspired by the superstions, relgions and real live in the south, which is where I am from but no longer reside, too many people there now. When he tells the devil well yea. I was hooked. This man deserves a listen and I will be adding more of his music to my collection. Soon!

Crows, Eagles, and Dying Snakes.......2006-07-24

"Even crows act like eagles when they find a dying snake."

In Western Pennsylvania (where I live), crows are everywhere. If you want to see an eagle, you have to be very lucky or willing to brave the wilderness. And snakes don't survive by exposing themselves to humans, so you're more likely to find them dead than alive. That Ray Wylie Hubbard sees, knows and cares about such things, derives wisdom by observing the process and is capable of capturing it in a song makes me want to thank God for placing such talent on the earth. He's obviously willing to brave the wilderness, literally and figuratively, and the result is a stunning collection of songs.

This CD was my initiation to this guy's body of recorded work. He's a great songwriter.

Mythological, Bluegrass, Buddhist, Gnostic, Gospel Hymns .......2005-07-23

Ray Wylie Hubbard deserves an award for the titles of his CDs: "Growl, Loco Gringo's Lament, Delirium Tremolos," and "Crusades of the Restless Knights," maybe the best title of them all. "Crusades" is folk music mixed with country and gospel, heavy on the metaphysics and as always with more than a hint of rowdiness.

"The Messenger" is my favorite song on the CD. Ray's recorded it before, but this time he does it with a quavery voice and strong backing vocals by Patty Griffin. "The River Bed" is another good one. He describes the song as "A quarter moon, a river bed, a beautiful woman...she just happens to be dead." That'll give you the flavor of Hubbard's songs: death and Texas, Rilke and Buddha, love and cocaine, Jesus and a hot woman in a "Red Dress."

A song I don't like on this CD is "Conversation with the Devil" which is too obviously derivative from an early Bob Dylan number, but all the others are good to great. A touching number is "Airplane Fell Down in Dixie" which is a subtle tribute. I won't tell you to who (whom?); you'll have to figure that out yourself. Hubbard, as usual, supplements his weathered voice and acoustic guitar with a collection of instruments and fine players. Dobro, fiddle, and mandolin are prominent. A cardboard box is used on one number -- and Ray learned to play slide guitar for this CD.

"Crusades" is one of half a dozen outstanding CDs Ray Wylie Hubbard has made over the last decade. The title of this review, by the way, comes from Ray's description of one of his songs. He says he hit two out of the six.

Smallchief

Was not a fan til this...........2004-12-16

I admit, all I'd heard before was "Up against the wall..."

Well, that's not this Ray Wylie Hubbard. Yes, "Crusades" has its own raw power, angst, and humor like the previous works, but Hubbard is talking about some deep subjects here: God, ghosts, a deeper life with depth and genuine feeling.

It's a little bit of country with a folk feeling. Yes, this CD will get Ray Wylie the airplay he well deserves.

You know I am going back to listen to some of his older music now.

He Was Alt-Country When Alt-Country Wasn't Cool.......2001-02-01

Ray has plugged away for decades trying to live down the memory of writing "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother". Anyone coming into this or any other Ray disc expecting this sort of barroom sing-along is in the wrong place. Ray writes deep, funny, touching songs with excellent musicianship to back it up.

In his live shows, you have the benefit of hearing the stories behind the songs, and you can see the true skill Ray has acquired at playing the guitar. He really seems to believe what he is singing in every instance, as if he has felt every emotion that is put forth.

In said live shows, the biggest reaction goes to "Conversations With the Devil", which threatens to be his new signature song. It is perhaps the most funny, yet also insightful, thing he has written, and I would think he would gladly replace Redneck Mother with this newer work.

The sound is stripped-down - Ray with a few players - but that's all he needs. The power of the songwriting and performance come through in what is perhaps one of the best country albums in a long time. Forget Nashville. Ray is creating art in Texas.

Music Album:

Music Album