Tom Russell - Folkscene (Feb. 18th, 1990)

All I can say about Tom Russell is WOW! I am extremely late to the party on Tom but consider me a huge fan! I had heard versions of his songs by other favorite artists, like Doug Sahm's version of St. Olav's Gate, and Johnny Cash's version of Veteran's Day but those versions are no match for Tom's. His latest album Blood and Candlesmoke (more on that coming up) is a modern masterpiece, and his back catalouge ain't too shabby either. This radio show is evidence of that. Backed by A Truer Sound favorite Steve Young, Tom plays in support of his then newly released album Poor Man's Dream. The interviews intermixed with the songs are something long time Tom Russell fans will not want to miss, and for new Tom Russell fans (like me) this makes a great intro to his back catalouge. Fans of Guy Clark, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Kristofferson, McMurtry, Cash's folky side and just great singer songwriters in general will be doing themselves a disservice to not be familiar with Tom Russell.