Jason Boland & the Stragglers,
Somewhere in the Middle

Label: Smith Music Group
Year: 2004

(4 out of 5)

Jason Boland has one of the most powerful and versatile voices in Texas music. He can growl like David Allen Coe on one song, then hop up an octave and croon a love song. And backed by the resourceful Stragglers, Boland generally makes his versatility succeed.

Indeed, versatility is one of the hallmarks of Somewhere in the Middle, a solid showcase of top-shelf songwriting and musicianship.

The band kicks things off with "Hank," an abbreviated-title cover of Eleven Hundred Springs' "Hank Williams Wouldn't Make It Now in Nashville Tennessee." It's an adequate opener, but no better than EHS's version on Bandwagon. Plus, it's just one of the scads of similarly themed positioning songs (anti-Nashville, pro-"golden days") to pop up this year.

Things begin to roll with the first Boland original, "When I'm Stoned," which also appeared on 2002's Live at Billy Bob's. Next is the title track, which is ascending the Texas Music Chart.

"If You Want to Hear a Love Song" is the first real gem on the album. Written from the viewpoint of a man in love with a married woman, Boland vividly evokes the frustration of unrequited love: Tired of running into walls / Reading all the writing that I see / Tired of yelling down the halls / Praying to God that you'll hear me / If you want to hear a love song / Then show me love.

A cover of Bob Childers' "Back to You" provides some nice ear candy, but nothing of real substance. "Stand Up to the Man" continues the overwrought populist heroism of "Somewhere in the Middle."

Boland and company get back on track with the walking blues of "Radio's Misbehaving," a clever twist on a heartbroken man's search for solace: My radio's been misbehaving / All it plays is real sad songs / Every time that I turn a dial / Someone's done another wrong /…Am I bound to hear the blues forever Lord / Or be a blessed man when these sad songs leave me be.

"Dirty Fightin' Love," co-written with Stoney Larue, and the drinking song "12 Oz. Curls" follow. Then two more standouts: the soulful "Mary" and Billy Joe Shaver's "Thunderbird Wine."

"Mary" presents the darker side of the drinking life and the lost man's quiet plea for help, a 180-degree turn from the playful "12 Oz. Curls": When those thoughts won't come / I know that the shakes will / I've got no gun to my head / Hell I couldn't even hold the barrel still / …I found the bottle or it found me / Tried to turn my future into history / Can anybody hear / Can anybody see.

Billy Joe Shaver joins Boland on "Thunderbird Wine," an elegy for love that's been outgrown: Living with a stranger now / The girl I knew got away somehow / …When the word was Thunderbird / And the price was forty twice / Drinking wine and loving you was fun. Besides the vocal interplay, the song also features outstanding fiddle work from Dennis Ludiker.

The album closes with "Hell or Bust" and Randy Crouch singing lead on the extended jam "Hope You Make It."

Somewhere in the Middle is an impressive album, welcome news for fans that have waited three years between studio efforts.

Buy: Lone Star Music, Amazon

October 27, 2004