After riding with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in 1976, Friedman's star, as it were, was at a peak. Therefore, Lasso from El Passo, his first post-Revue record, is his least country sounding and is populated with very big names from the rock world: Eric Clapton (on Dobro), Roger McGuinn, Dr. John, and four members of the Band among them. Ironically, the best cuts here are the ballads, notably "Twinkle," "Lady Yesterday," and a dead-serious reading of Johnny Cash's "Ballad of Ira Hayes.
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