Ray Wylie Hubbard - Dangerous Spirits (1997)

Sheer determination is what makes this collection of songs a force to be reckoned with. Hubbard's songs mix styles and genres recklessly, using whatever he needs to get the point across. While he doesn't have the greatest voice around, he puts his soul into his singing, leaving a memorable impression. None of these songs are comfortable, simple ditties about love and loss and all that -- these are songs about life and pain in a way that country music usually doesn't cozy up to, with some genuinely creepy moments: "The Last Younger Son" tells the tale of the youngest of the Younger brothers as he faces his death, played out as a slow blues reeling with spiritual obsession and cold destiny. An excellent album.~Dangerous Spirits Review by Steven McDonald