Guy Clark

Buying a Guy Clark album is like buying a pair of your favorite jeans. You know exactly how it will feel and fit, but the newness is always a subtle but pervasive thrill. On Workbench Songs, Clark does what he does best — create honest music, filled with moments of obvious but profound observations we all wish we had made before. And it always rhymes. It’s one of those records you listen to from start to finish, then play it again.

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All 11 tracks are co-writes with his Nashville cronies, save for Townes Van Zandt’s “No Lonesome Tune” and the traditional “Diamond Joe.” From the witty wordplay in “Tornado Time in Texas” (with an assist by longtime collaborator Verlon Thompson) — “Take the paint right off your barn/Blow the tattoo off your arm” — to the poignant lament of “Magdalene,” Clark nails it every time on this gem. 5 stars