On Reverie, Louis Ledford reminds one a little bit of an early Bob Dylan. He's a little scruffy around the edges and world-weary, giving the impression of someone who's done some hard traveling. This impression only holds true for the first two tracks ("All of My Dreams/Most of the Time" and "Make It Home") before shifting abruptly to alternative country on "Belle Isle." In both cases, though, Ledford retains a melancholy mood and has a lot to say about life's hard knocks. One gains the impression on "Lonesome Road" of lives that somehow fell short of their potential as possibilities narrowed. "Belle Isle" is a very long tale about the horrors of prison life during the Civil War, while "Lately," to borrow from Ledford's notes, is "about addiction, deception, anger, and violence." This makes the occasional deviation a relief. "Maury Street" combines a nice bit of blues with a bouncy backbeat, the kind of thing that Tom Waits might tear into. The lyrics here may sound just as desperate as anything on the album, but the bouncy beat gives the song a romantic edge. These songs, like some of Dylan's, are often long, and may try the non-folknik's patience. Ledford, however, has made a solid album, updating folk and, on occasion, country for the post-millennium.
© Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. /TiVo