Low-key singer-songwriter country from SoCal veteran

Rick Shea’s been a regular on the Southern California country scene for two decades now, having first sprung forward with the defiant Outside of Nashville and following up with a cut on the third volume of A Town South of Bakersfield compilation. The Bakersfield from which Shea takes inspiration is the singer-songwriter style of Merle Haggard’s, rather than the telecaster sting of Buck Owens. Haggard’s introspective near-folkie tone is strong on this latest release, with spare arrangements highlighting Shea’s guitar playing and leaving his vocals mostly unadorned by harmonies. Ten originals are joined by a cover of “Fisherman’s Blues” that’s more spent than the Waterboys’ original. The singing is understated, with a reserve that variously suggests distraction, introspection, resignation and carefully measured joy. Even when the band plays electric blues on “Nelly Bly,” it’s low and slow. The album picks up briefly to mid-tempo for the Norteño flavored “Sweet Little Pocha” and closes with the island-flavored steel-guitar instrumental “The Haleiwa Shuffle.” This is a low-key album that’s closer to singer-songwriter folk than country, and a pleasing addition to Shea’s catalog. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

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