Tom T. Hall is country music royalty, a towering songwriter who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Now in his late 70s, he is officially retired but music is in his blood so he just keeps on going to the end.
Inevitably, the fading of the light and a nostalgia for a past age infuses the songs collected here, but the tone is gentle and quietly reflective rather than sad or sour.
The record was conceived as a Christmas gift from Tom to his wife and writing partner 'Miss Dixie' and was first released in the states on the couple's own Blue Circle Records label. Drumfire Records are to be congratulated for making this 'gift' available for UK listeners.
Dixie produced it herself and hand-picked the cream of Nashville musicians to back her husband. These include the late 'King of Bluegrass', Jimmy Martins and legendary banjo-picker Earl Scruggs on a track with the self explanatory title One Of Those Days (When I Miss Lester Flatt).
Tom T. Hall's track record speaks for itself. He has made 35 studio albums and written songs for country greats like Johnny Cash, George Jones and Loretta Lynn.
This album shows that he hasn't lost the gift for writing simple songs about the country and people he loves.
A Headstone For Harry is a prime example of his storytelling genius. It tells of a youngster trying to raise money to pay for his father's headstone. The bill of $246 gets to be paid from the proceeds of a benefit concert and the boy puts stone on the grave that reads "My name's Harry Walker and here's where I'm at". The song has a comic edge but is touching too as it is told with such grace and respect for common humanity.
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Once Upon A Road is about looking back to a simpler age and concludes with some fine duelling guitar and fiddle playing (from Glen Benson).
Our Little World is another song about growing old contentedly being thankful for "the blessing that each morning brings".
A rich core of Redneck-free patriotism runs through songs like I'm A Coal Mining Man and A Hero In Harlan and there's plenty of good humour too exemplified in a song like Leaving Baker County.
The best is saved for last with a storming Jimmy Martin's Life Story which has Martin on G-run guitar and yodelling like there's no tomorrow.
This track stands as a fitting and affectionate tribute to Martins, who died in 2005, but the final lines could equally apply to Tom T himself: "The songs that he sung and the work that he's done / It's in the book, they can't take that away".
Tom T. Hall's Official Website
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