Allen isn"t as well known as his old pals from Lubbock, Texas--Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock--but he shares their slightly twisted, strangely inspired approach to country-folk-rock songwriting. On previous recordings, Allen"s smart, sardonic lyrics have often been undermined by his dry, cramped voice and flat arrangements, but on this new album he gets help from such longtime friends and admirers as Ely, David Byrne, Lucinda Williams, Will Sexton, and Charlie Sexton. They put the musical flesh on Allen"s verbal skeleton and make this idiosyncratic but gifted songwriter a lot more approachable. Allen serves up Jerry Jeff Walker-like barroom anthems about Texas, Talking Heads-like contemplations of modern society and Ely-like story songs about the border. --Geoffrey Himes