Junior Brown,
Down Home Chrome

Label: Telarc
Year: 2004

(3½ out of 5)

With his first album since turning 50 in 2002, 'guit-steel' legend Junior Brown continues the musical experimentation that has captivated rednecks and hipsters alike. Yet with everything from hotrod rock and heartbroke blues to high-hat jazz and Hendrix rock, Down Home Chrome can't help but yield results as mixed as the song styles themselves.

The opening track, "Little Rivi-Airhead," is a grating, Dick Dale-styled homage to bygone days of courting and car racing. A similar theme appears in "Hill Country Hot Rod Man," but with much better results. Brown's signature wordplay highlights "It Hurts When I Do That," "Where Has All the Money Gone?" and "Two Rons Don't Make It Right."

Brown shows his serious side with the moving narrative of "Jimmy Jones." Adopting a mostly spoken word style reminiscent of vintage Jimmy Dean, Brown sings of a woman mourning the loss of her soldier brother. The song exhibits a dramatic depth unmatched by anything else on the album. The jazzy "You Inspire Me" is another highlight, with Brown choosing to put his vocals in the spotlight rather than his unique 'guit-steel' prowess.

The most surprising tracks are the two closers: a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" and the heavy blues of "Monkey Wrench Blues." Brown startles with his uncanny Hendrix impersonation, but it seems wildly out of place. It's a fun song to listen to-once, maybe twice. The 10-minute-plus closing track steers back into familiar Junior Brown territory, but with a loose, improvisational jam quality unlike anything he has released to date. "Monkey Wrench Blues" is a great way to close the album.

With this self-produced Telarc debut, Brown seems determined to prove just how wide-ranging his music can be. Sometimes that approach works, sometimes it yields uncertain results. What is certain, however, is that this is Brown's most ambitious album yet.

Buy: Lone Star Music, Amazon

August 31, 2004