| 13. songwriters like Guy Clark, Tom Russell, or Steve Earle -- brilliant talents all. He uses the entire array and history of American roots music, and is musician enough to pull them off, not only in his writing, but in his recording and performing. The bottom line, of course, is that Down by the River is a real achievement by any standard, and coming so far into the artist's career it stands as an anomaly in the music biz: rather than revisit his successes or rest on his laurels, McAnally has gone wider and deeper to release what is arguably his crown jewel, which is a fertile as the land and the history of America itself. This is music that comes from the ground and ascends to the heart |
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