With
John Prine sadly no longer among the living, someone had to take over his position as the wise and witty regular guy of American roots music.
Hayes Carll didn't make 2021's
You Get It All to apply for that particular job, but it suggests he could make the short list if someone was seriously considering candidates. While
Carll doesn't sound like he's trying to mimic
Prine's style as a songwriter, his easygoing gift for drawing characters and summing up a situation with a few telling details makes it easy to imagine he learned a few things from listening to
Prine's music over the years. Like
Prine, he can do funny and relatable ("Any Other Way") and poignant ("Help Me Remember") with the same warmth and unforced unfamiliarity, and the homegrown wisdom of "She'll Come Back to Me" and "If It Was Up to Me" hits home with a bittersweet touch that falls just short of sweetly sentimental.
Carll's melodies are a great fit for his lyrics -- tuneful, evocative, and avoiding anything too fancy for his slightly rumpled personality -- and his vocals boast a natural Southwestern twang that makes him sound like a friendlier, more relatable version of
Steve Earle (a comparison that would doubtless annoy
Earle to no end). Also like
Prine,
Hayes Carll has a way of doing his best work without sounding like he's trying too hard; the craft on
You Get It All is fine enough that he obviously put his best effort into these songs, and yet the final product feels as if it came together naturally, adding to their easygoing appeal.
Carll's spouse
Allison Moorer produced the sessions in tandem with
Kenny Greenberg, and the sound is just right for the performances: natural and intimate but not afraid to kick up its heels when the mood is right.
You Get It All does practically everything a
Hayes Carll album should do just right, and its unpretentious excellence makes it one of the best and most satisfying albums he's released to date. ~ Mark Deming