John Wesley Harding Awake Lyrics

Harding's always had trouble squeezing out sparks in the studio, so it's easy to wonder what all the infernal fuss over the guy is about until you hear his charisma explode on a good live recording. Awake is better than a lot of his studio albums in that respect (better than New Deal, for instance) but it's still a pretty polite effort for a guy who fancies himself an outlaw folkie. Maybe pass on this one for now, but definitely hear "When the Beatles Hit America" on the Mountain Stage Vol. 2 compilation. Be astonished, and proceed from there. --Gavin McNett