Rhinestoned by Jason Ringenberg: There’s enough hillbilly in Ringenberg’s singing and enough Appalachia in his rock ’n’ roll to make the wide-ranging subjects of his recent forays into homage-paying seem radical in the most literal sense. Last time it was John Muir, the Ramones, and John the Baptist. This time it’s the Freedom Riders, Crazy Horse, Hank Williams, and the resurrected Christ. Put all those together, and you get the impression that it’s by tying himself to a tree with roots (and by turning guitar duties over to George Bradfute) that Ringenberg intends to weather the storms that threaten the memory of all he holds dear (Nashville’s rhinestone era included). You also have a syllabus the likes of which history majors won’t easily forget.
by Arsenio Orteza