Robert Earl Keen
Vocally this Texas singer-songwriter bears an unfortunate similarity to guitarist Leo Kottke, who once ruthlessly compared his own voice to "geese farts on a muggy day." But Keen's less-than-sonorous baritone is surprisingly easy to overlook—he writes memorable, occasionally unforgettable country-folk tunes (since recorded by Nanci Griffith and Keen's old buddy Lyle Lovett, among others), and he unfailingly surrounds himself with a first-rate bunch of pickers.
Keen knows how to rock a Saturday-night beer joint, and he can cast a hush over the crowd too—"Think It Over One Time" is an easy-flowing ballad with an addictive chorus, and "Lynnville Train" is a genuine heartbreaker. (Sugar Hill)
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