"Wherever weeeee go ameeeeeego" ... I love that song!

Another cat who turned away from sounding like all the hats is David Ball, playing here Sunday at Cook County Saloon. This is a really sweet, traditional-sounding country album, heavy on the western and Texas swing.

Ball's voice is great, and the song Riding with Private Malone has already become a hit in the era of new patriotism, even though it's about a Vietnam vet who ends up turning into Michael Landon, saving anyone who crashes his old cars. Kind of.

Better than that is the song Loser Friendly, such an Edmonton bar tune, images of waitresses helping the singing loser over to his VLT. Perfectly pathetic and inherently beautiful.

There's a sweet instrumental called New Shiner Polka. I don't know. Is something still considered an instrumental when the singer emits an "ugh" in the middle? I'll write the prime minister and find out. Meanwhile, yodelling kicks in right away. Mmmmm, yodelling.

Trust me, this is a good one, Texas. (More on: David Ball).

Track Listing