Larry Jon Wilson - Larry Jon Wilson

An associate of the country outlaw generation that included Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Larry Jon Wilson's burly baritone burr brought tableaux like Ohoopee River Bottomland and Sheldon Church Yard to vivid life, but his refusal to compromise curtailed his Seventies career after just a few albums.

Wilson even harboured reluctance about this sel-titled comeback album, which he insisted on doing 'with no sticks and no plugs'. Trimmed to little more than his voice and guitar, the results are as gripping as the late Johnny Cash recordings, full of languid ruminations on the past and bitter existential reflections.

His candid attitude can be gleaned from the fact that, while Elvis does an American Trilogy, Wilson here does a Losers Trilogy and a Whore Trilogy, the latter incorporating poignant renditions of Paul Siebel's Louise and Mickey Newbury's San Francisco Mabel Joy.

There's also a version of the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson Heartland, its account of disillusion withering hope perfectly suited to Wilson's world-weary tones.

• Shoulders
• Losers Trilogy
• Heartland
• Long About Now
• Me With No You
• Feel Alright Again
• I Am No Dancer
• Goodbye Eyes
• Rocking With You
• Throw My Hands Up
• Whore Trilogy
• Where From