Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Chuckanut Drive takes its name from a scenic highway near Bellingham, Washington, not exactly what you would expect from a country rock band, but there you go. Of course, Chuckanut Drive doesn’t conform to preconceived stereotypes. For but one example, the band lists the Rolling Stones as an influence. Good call; one does not think of the Stones as a country band, but some of their best songs --- “It’s All Over Now,” “The Last Time,” “Dead Flowers,” and of course “Wild Horses” --- were country if they were anything. Chuckanut Drive has a song, “Back On the Tarmac,” which is just killer, and while totally original, you can kind of hear a “Dead Flowers” influence in the background. Guitarist Steve Leslie has that world-weary element in his vocals, one that sounds just right for the material. The band is a five piece --- guitars, bass, pedal steel, and drums --- and there’s no sense of waste or flash on any of the songs, just good, solid playing.

Interestingly enough, my favorite tracks on THE CROOKED MILE HOME are the ballads. There is one track in particular, “Juanita,” that could have been written by Townes Van Zandt. I wanted to open a vein. And that’s a compliment. Seriously. It’s just guitarist and vocalist Leslie, but you can hear the spirit of the band in the background. That may not make sense until you hear it, but listen to THE CROOKED MILE HOME and you’ll see what I mean. “Worn Out Shoes” is in a similar vein, though it’s about being down, but not out. There’s a line I’ve got to share with you: “the tear that reaches heaven first/ might be sanctified and returned to earth.” I love that line, more than I’ve liked any lyric for a long, long time.

My impression from my initial playing of the first few bars of THE CROOKED MILE HOME was that Chuckanut Drive was a capable but undistinguished country rock band. I could not have been more wrong. I hear new things that strike me in different ways each time I play it. A great disc for any time of day, on any day.