Lost Dogs

Item: Real Men Cry
Author: Chris MacIntosh

Real Men Cry

(2001)

Reviewed by Chris MacIntosh

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Label BEC RecordingsThe Phantom Tollbooth2001

country folk roots rock

The new Lost Dogs is out, and it's creative, brilliant, magical and contains harmonies that Crosby, Stills and Nash would die for. Derri Daugherty, Mike Roe and Terry Scott Taylor have returned with a collection of thirteen new songs, some of which are among the best the band has ever released.

The songs divide up as follows: one ("Dust on the Bible") is a cover of an old tune by Johnny and Walter Bailes; one is a new song by Roe ("Lovely Man"); and the remaining eleven are Taylor compositions. The lead vocals are divided evenly between the guys and they sound great. It is a pleasure listening to this latest installment in an ongoing story. Along for the ride this time are Tim Chandler on bass, Frank Lenz on drums, Phil Madeira on guitar, B3 and accordion. Mike Knott contributes backing vocals on one song, and "Doctor Love" plucks the bass on a tune.

This album is a natural progression from their last effort, Gift Horse, in that it mines a country vein--it sounds like the guys have been indulging in Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard lately. There are also shades of early Eagles, and, of course, The Flying Burrito Bros. All of this makes for an absolutely phenomenal album. Just when you think these guys can't get any better, they pull this one out of their bag of tricks. The playing, the writing, the production and the engineering (Daugherty, with assistance from Chris Colbert) couldn't be any better. What started out as a side project a number of years ago has grown into one of the best bands around today.

From the pure energy of tunes like "A Certain Love" and "Wild Ride" to the gentleness and beauty of "Golden Dreams" and "The Great Divide," this could very well replace Daniel Amos' "Mr. Buechner's Dream" as album of the year. It's that good! "Golden Dreams" might just be the prettiest song that Taylor has ever written and considering the recent tragedies in New York City and Washington, DC, it just has a magical and a peacefully sad quality to it. Thanks a lot, guys, for a bright light in a time of darkness. May God be with you.