(Columbia Nashville/Lucky Dog Records)

 

Charlie Robison's third album serves up a robust, gritty brew, full of songs that take a wry look at life's failures and tragedies.  In "Desperate Times," he tells the haunting tale of a young man's road to destruction in his reckless pursuit of riches.  Desire, bold and urgent, sizzles in his delivery of "Sweet Inspiration":  You're lovin' makes my blood boil hot / just like the desert heat / that's cookin' through the cracks / of this old highway.  That one's a cover version, but Charlie wrote or co-wrote eight of Step Right Up's 12 tunes.

 

Dixie Chick Natalie Maines adds her heartachin' voice to Robison's potent, gravelled drawl in "The Wedding Song."  It's a Texas waltz that takes a sardonic yet poignant look at a couple's commitment to each other, long after fairy-tale dreams have faded to reality.

 

Step Right Up is pungent with the hardcore flavor of the Texas dancehalls and beer joints Charlie Robison came from.  No "hat act" looking to be the next pop-crossover sensation, Charlie offers bittersweet slices of life in the real world.