You've got to be a pretty great storyteller to set the Old Testament version of Creation to music and put so much of yourself into it that it sounds like you made it up. Ray Wylie Hubbard does just that on the first track of 2017's Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There as Fast as I Can, in which he recasts the tale of Adam and Eve in his rough but compelling Texas drawl, with guitar and foot stomps transforming the story into a swampy hunk of country blues. That may be the boldest gambit on this album, but the other nine tracks are every bit as strong and engaging as the opener. Hubbard is one of the best lyricists working in America today, capable of spinning tales that draw in listeners with their vivid characters and details, and his vocal style, rough but alive, only adds to the power of his words. The arrangements on Tell the Devil work beautifully with Hubbard's performances; this album sounds spare and smoky, like it was recorded spontaneously at 3 A.M. with bourbon and cigarettes close at hand, and the atmosphere is potent throughout. Whether he's singing about his favorite guitar tuning, a renegade folk group from the '60s, the wild ride of an aspiring songwriter, a night out at a dive bar, or his own colorful journeys, Hubbard makes music that's cinematic in its depth and unique in its ability to get under your skin. At the age of 70, Ray Wylie Hubbard is making music that's tougher, more effective, and better crafted than most artists a third his age, and Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There as Fast as I Can is yet another striking example of his casual brilliance.
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