San Francisco’s Tom Heyman is an in-demand musician; his seasoned pedal steel accompaniment is especially sought after. He's played with Alejandro Escovedo, Billy Talbot, Chuck Prophet, “Farmer” Dave Scher, Big Eagle, Mark Eitzel, John Vanderslice, Tift Merritt, and countless others. On his sophomore solo album, Deliver Me, Heyman recalls various luminaries of Americana twang while retaining his own salty tone. “Alright” opens, hinting that Heyman may own every Kris Kristofferson album; his grizzled tenor sounds like he’s singing a country-folk love song through clenched teeth. “Monkey out of Me” plays with an antiquated organ grinder’s whimsy, while the roots-rocking title track has Heyman inflecting in a higher register as a picturesque narrative unfolds like a Chris Smither tune before he picks and slides all over a pedal steel jacked into a wah-wah pedal, like Led Zeppelin’s “Tangerine.” Heyman’s knack for storytelling shines brightest in songs like “Crazy Ray,” which muses on one of those aging pomaded rockabilly dudes who haunt every town’s dive bars. “Bottles” is a brilliant dipsomaniac’s lament on par with Mickey Newbury’s opus Frisco Mabel Joy.