For folks who like country music animated with the romance of Marty Robbins, the gloss of Glen Campbell and the slickness of ‘70s Nashville, it doesn’t get any better than this new set of a dozen
tunes from SoCal songwriter Sam Outlaw. With Ry Cooder at the mixing desk and Punch Brothers’ Gabe Witcher among his studio hands, Outlaw hits the road on “Keep It Interesting,” rocks gently on the rails on “Love Her for a While,” gets his George Jones on with the jukebox-worthy “Jesus Take the Wheel (and Drive Me to a Bar)” and hangs around the house of Yoakam on “Who Do You Think You Are?” In the ever-growing field of new artists recording in the classic style, this kid is a standout.