One of the first names mentioned when discussing the origin of roots music, LA-born Tom Russell is best known for his Tex-Mex flair and Johnny Cash-like country stabs aimed at the politics and bravado of the great West. Spread out over his 25-album oeuvre are many a reinvention - as a blues artist, a painter, even an armchair poet who corresponded with LA slum-laureate, Charles Bukowski - all of which show up on his latest LP, just dropped via Shout! Factory, Blood & Candle Smoke. (Gavin Paul)
