Freedom's Child

Freedom's Child

Only Billy Joe Shaver could inject salacity into a line like "I went down to Kinko's / To get some faxing done." It's a renaissance that began when his <I>Tramp on Your Street</I> album heralded a dramatic, triumphant return of a long-overlooked pillar of the Outlaw movement. On it, Shaver's creative grit, enhanced by son Eddy's roaring lead guitar, resurged with a vengeance. That consistency held through every subsequent album despite multiple tragedies in recent years: the successive deaths of his mother, wife, and Eddy, and Shaver's own onstage heart attack. Here, accompanied by a first-rate studio band, he rocks with Todd Snider on "Déjà Blues" and waxes patriotic ("Freedom's Child" and a swinging remake of "Good Ol' U.S.A."). "Day by Day" showcases his knowing, evocative storytelling, which carries over to his Johnny Cash homage "That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues." As always, each performance has the feel of an ancient field recording or Walker Evans photograph, one more reason Shaver remains a national treasure. <I>--Rich Kienzle</I>