From the deepest, darkest blues sometimes comes the truest Gospel. That’s what I heard from Ray Wylie Hubbard as he expounded like a preacher through his country blues at Twangfest at St. Louis’ Blueberry Hill.
I say this despite the fact that Hubbard said that the only prayer he knows is: “God, if you get me out of this, I’ll never do it again.” He also says, “Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus would’ve made a good Buddha.” He might not believe in his heart (or in his stage persona) that Jesus is Lord and Savior, but his whoop of Gospel on “Whoop and Hollar” carries more hope in Jesus than perhaps he knows.
When I rise up out of my grave and see my savior’s face
I ‘m gonna whoop, I’m gonna holler
It’s a song of complete abandon in face of eternal hope—something we don’t whoop and hollar about enough.
Hearing Hubbard for the first time I now know why I like James McMurtry and Hayes Carll so much. They owe a great debt to Hubbard for their Country-influenced Rock sound. Hubbard is a Charlie Daniels-Bob Dylan, singing folk country that can also scorch the earth. It’s a swamp twang that causes Hubbard to namecheck Muddy Waters, Fats Waller, Sam Hawkins, Sam Cooke, and Wilson Pickett.
Joining Hubbard was his 17-year-old son, Lucas, who plays a mean electric guitar—not only on the album, A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment, (Hint: There is No C) but also live. As Hubbard mentions on “Pots and Pans,” Lucas can really bend those strings. Rick Richards adds some great punctuation on the drums, letting the kick really get into those jams. Richards and Lucas Hubbard really showed their stuff on a blues jam midway through the set.
