5x****
Dobro-heavy "Stagger Lee"**** sets the baseline for this album of rustic tales and bluegrass/blues. "Twelve Thousand Miles"**** is a bit more typical blues, but the slide guitar in the second half is truly impressive. but the most impressive moments are on the darker paths. Jeff Lang-penned "The Road Leads Down"**** walks these stranger latitudes easily, while the ethereal "Ravenswood"**** is an evocative, eerie trip into the dark. Other songs such as "Motion Bride", the title song, and "Hellbound on My Trail" explore the darker edges of bluegrass, while "Underground" is a kind of saucy, churning Bo Diddley blues. Of the two Dylan covers "Changing of the Guard" has the nicer subtle touches, though it's still not my favorite. "Velocity Girl"**** is another good example of taking a rather predictable progression off the deep end with some spacey solos. While "Forever In My Life" comes dangerously close to a Bob Seger melody worthy of a Budweiser commercial, the surprises distributed throughout keep the rest of the album consistently enjoyable.
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