Alberta's Duane Steele had a rough ride for a while, and it shows.

It's bringing out the folksinger in him, pushing the former Rockin' Horse singer away from the broken heart and truck songs (though there are plenty here), towards the descriptions of the wide Prairie, back of the Greyhound and emotionless wind. Fascinating.

The title track is a bruiser, and he even does kind of a Paul Brandt thing with his voice on Make Me Crazy, low like a 45 played at the wrong speed. Mostly this is an easy-listenin' album, but the words are sadder than that assessment.

The steel playing on I-65 is nice, more road music, and there should have been more of it. Just a little more emotion, and tune the band up slightly, and this would have been gold. As it is, Steele's a lovable guy, and this witness's journey through his last couple of years makes him more so.

As much as I want him to be happy, if being sad makes him seem more real like it has here, well, good on him for turning his tragedies around.

Listen to Johnny's Dream and you'll know what I mean.

Saturday, September 30, 2000

Duane Steele settles in