Real: The Tom T. Hall Project

The great compilation album honoring Tom T. Hall by very country and alt-country stars: This celebration of one of country's most prolific and engaging songwriters is a long-time-coming labor of love for producers Mark Linn and Justin Bass. If it works, chalk it up to the range of performers and the imagination lent to sterling songs. Linn and Bass juxtapose legends like Johnny Cash--who offers a pared-down American Recordings-style take on "I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew"--and Ralph Stanley with alternative country upstarts like Kelly Willis, Syd Straw, and Calexico. Whiskeytown reinvents "I Hope It Rains at My Funeral" through Ryan Adams's scrappy vagabond's voice and winds up with a wholly faithful, wholly new classic. Joe Henry turns "Homecoming" into a trip-country dance mix á la Beck--the result is eerie, unveiling the song's most secret emotions. Only a few interpretations miss the mark: Joel R. L. Phelps's tortured vocal beats down the subtle humor of "Spokane Motel Blues," and Jonny Polonsky simply sounds lost with "Old Enough to Want (Fool Enough to Try)." Some of the best versions are the most spare and vulnerable: Mark Olson and Victoria Williams harmonize mildly on "It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines," and Richard Buckner is alone with just guitar on "When Love Is Gone." Few tribute albums are this rewarding, start to finish: if you're not yet a fan of Tom T. Hall's songwriting, you will be. --Roy Kasten 1. I Washed My Face In The Mornig Dew - Johnny Cash 2. That's How I Got To Memphis - Kelly Willis 3. When Love Is Gone - Richard Buckner 4. Don't Forget The Coffee Billy Joe - R.B. Morris 5. Coffee, Coffee, Coffee - Freedy Johnston 6. Old Enough To Want To (Fool Enough To Try) - Jonny Polonsky 7. Ships Go Out - Ron Sexsmith 8. I Miss A Lot Of Trains - Iris DeMent 9. Tulsa Telephone Book - Calexico 10. Harper Valley P.T.A. - Syd Straw & The Skeletons 11. Spokane Motel Blues - Joel R.L. Phelps 12. Homecoming - Joe Henry 13. The Water Lily - Ralph Stanley featuring Ralph Stanley II 14. I'm Not Ready Yet - The Mary Janes 15. Candy In The Window - Mary Cutrufello 16. I Hope It Rains At My Funeral - Whiskeytown 17. It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines - Mark Olson with Victoria Williams

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