Buddy Miller

Coming off his first official collaboration with his wife, 2001's Buddy and Julie Miller, Midnight And Lonesome could instantly be faulted for not repeating that long-awaited equal billing. While it is another worthy addition to Miller's rapidly growing body of work, and Julie remains a strong supporting presence throughout the album, it sounds like Buddy has simply slipped back into a familiar formula. Still, few roots rock artists make records as well as Miller. His dark, traditionally-informed songwriting, combined with rich, textured production has become a blueprint for many alt-country wannabes. But aside from a few surprises, such as his rediscovery of the Everly Brothers' bottomlessly painful "The Price Of Love," the insightful "A Showman's Life," and "Quecreek," a tribute to the nine miners who survived three days buried last year, too much of this material is just Miller flexing his musical muscles. Again, that's not a bad thing; J.J. Cale made an entire career out of almost exactly the same approach. But with Miller's reputation now without question, it's time that he perhaps pushes himself a bit harder, instead of seemingly making the same record each time out.