Jerry Jeff Walker

Forget about the fact that Jerry Jeff Walker was from Long Island and his songs of redneck celebration and yearning for honky-tonk cred are a little too well written; almost perfectly realized outlaw country lite. The real draw to Jerry Jeff is the way he sang: smooth and rough all at once and genuinely doomed by drink. All his best songs are on here.

A lesser light of the outlaw-country movement, Walker's main claim to fame is writing "Mr.
Bojangles." If you want to check out Walker's gruff voice and surly songs, go for last year's
Ultimate Collection, which includes the dozen songs gathered here, and more. (RS 905 -
Sept. 19, 2002)