Empire Builders

Amazon.com (editorial review)
On his fifth solo album, the ex-Scorcher's politics take a whiplash left turn, but it's the sharper, deeper turn towards songwriting that counts most. With the exception of the spoken opening track (reprised as a closer) and the Fahrenheit 9/11-friendly "New-Fashioned Imperialist" (pounded out by a Cajun marching band), the messages are couched in sly, engrossing narratives. Ringenberg finds himself in the German countryside only to be stalked by the confederate flag, celebrates a black airman's pride in the face of racism, and on the surprisingly gorgeous "Chief Joseph's Last Dream," proves he can sing without hiccupping and write without irony or hyperbole. He can still stomp out the twang rock - his homage to Link Wray lives up to the source - and he hasn't lost his comedic touch, but he's never penned anything quite as harrowing as "She Hung the Moon (Until It Died)" or tackled an epic like Jim Roll's "Eddie Rode the Orphan Train" with so much heart, grace and nerve.

Roy Kasten