Tom Russell, Love & Fear (Hightone)


Tom Russell’s last project, a tribute to the poet Charles Bukowski, has clearly influenced his own writing here. The country/folk/blues songwriter ponders the struggle against the limitations age places on physicality with astringent candor on “The Pugilist at 59” and takes a withering look at relationship struggles in “Four Chambered Heart.” Russell’s trademark storytelling skills emerge on “Stealing Electricity,” but the heart of his Bukowski reverie reveals itself in the metaphysical meditation on “Beautiful Trouble.”