Chris Knight

Chris Knight’s 2006 release Enough Rope was a gritty, honest and above all expertly crafted slice of Prine, Earle and Mellencamp influenced Americana. His ability to tap so deeply into the less than pretty truths of blue-collar, middle American life has long been his trump card. Even if the Mellencamp references are well earned and justified — and I almost hate to use the name twice so early in this review — Knight’s delivery often has a road-worn rawness about it that for the most part shakes off… Show more any need for comparison. With Heart Of Stone, Knight’s pervasive scruffiness is in full swing, but the songs themselves reveal more introspection, a need to escape the pains of regret and heartbreak, than the character driven themes of Enough Rope. Not to say that he’s lost any potency in his imagery, and not to assume that all these songs sung in first person are necessarily autobiographical, but out of 12 tracks only a few bear the story oriented writing of his previous album. On all but one of the tracks on Heart Of Stone, Knight is joined by a scrappy band that perfectly straddles the line between tight and comfortably loose. The result? Some of the best earthy, country/rock to come down the pipe this year.

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