Richard J. Dobson is known as a songwriter, covered by the likes of Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, and David Allan Coe, a pretty good indication of the kind of flinty, literary Texas country he makes.
In June 1993, Dobson and his State of the Heart Band – Mark Sergio Webb and Susie Monick – recorded a live CD at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio outside Austin. Called Mankind, only a few copies were pressed, and the CD went into obscurity. The 2015 Bear Family set Mankind Plus, which has two bonus tracks, represents a revival of a record that functions something like a songbook and summary. Many, but not all, of his key songs are here — including “Baby Ride Easy,” popularized in a duet by Dave Edmunds and…
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…Carlene Carter about 12 years earlier — and they’re given simple but not spare arrangements that keep the focus on Dobson’s expert craft and wry, dry delivery.
1. Mankind
2. Baby Ride Easy
3. Living & Dying for Love
4. Blackberry Bottom
5. The Blue in Susie’s Eyes
6. That’s Right
7. Old Friends
8. Foley
9. Down in Lafayette
10. Next Year Better
11. Piece of Wood & Steel
12. 63 Mercury
13. Useful Girls
14. Ballad of Robin Winter-Smith
15. Money Talks (bonus)
16. Never Say Never (bonus)