Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard established himself as a different and braver kind of country artist with his great song "Redneck Mother." Not only did he make fun of rednecks, he made fun of their mothers as well. He even managed to irritate the normally calm Merle Haggard by appropriating a line from "Okie From Muskogee." Although the latter song had been delivered tongue in cheek to begin with, Hubbard's song can be considered something of an answer to the right-wing sentiments expressed by the narrator of the Haggard ditty. So Hubbard arrived with a splash, but the relative lack of impact he had on the country scene since then might have something to do with his inconsistency. The listener who has enjoyed the redneck song, which needless to say kicks off the first side of this debut Hubbard album, will immediately come face to face with Hubbard's failings as he launches into the pretentious, whining "What a Way to Go." This song represents something of an innovative fusion, although maybe not one anyone is interested in hearing: the combination of country & western and Meatloaf. Next up is some standard white boy Texas blues, kind of like Delbert McLinton with a headache. But it isn't a one-hit album by any means. The Tony Joe White cover boogies along nicely and can be added to the Saturday night "rock out" radio play list. And the edgy lyrics that made Hubbard so interesting in the first place are back on "Freeway Church of Christ." The many and varied instrumentalists that came together for these sessions really shore up the music at times when the lyrics and Hubbard's dull voice don't have much to offer. Steel guitar player Larry White plays incredible licks, some of them on the worst songs. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide