High Top Mountain in Bloomington, MN

As soon as
High Top Mountain
begins to unspool, it's hard to shake the feeling that
Sturgill Simpson
's 2013 debut isn't some kind of tribute to
Waylon Jennings
. When the tempo slows down and the arrangements are stripped to an acoustic guitar, he can at times recall
Jamey Johnson
, but that troubadour himself owes a significant debt to
Waylon
, so having the slow tunes conjure
Johnson
isn't a dramatic shift in tone, but it does give
a bit of depth, suggesting
Simpson
knows he does not reside in 1978. He'll admit as much in the lyrics -- he'll grudgingly accept the internet and other inconveniences of modern life -- but the sound belongs to the late-'70s and
is particularly fond of the hard, lean, rolling sound of
's outlaw period, molding his band and songs after the records that came after
Honky Tonk Heroes
. If
doesn't have the gravity of
Jennings
in his voice, he compensates with attitude, taking his sweet time to re-capture the long, languid strut of
.
's ace in the hole is how he can craft a song -- he can conjure the spirit of
, never sounding as overwhelming as
, but he can capture the muscular inevitability that pulsated through the peak of outlaw country.
doesn't succumb to the weaknesses of prime outlaw -- the tunes aren't tired, they're fresh, often deriving from
's pen -- and his evident passion means
feels fresh even if it so clearly means to conjure the ghosts of the '70s in every one of its songs and every one of its performances. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine