All Over Creation

Album Review

In his liner notes to All Over Creation, Jason Ringenberg writes that touring as a solo act behind A Pocketful of Soul caused him to spend a lot more time jamming with other musicians in his off hours than he ever had before, which led to this album, which finds him sharing each track with a different act (except for Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin, who pop up twice). While A Pocketful of Soul focused on the traditional country side of Ringenberg's musical personality, All Over Creation is, well, all over the place, spinning between frantic rockabilly ("Honky Tonk Maniac From Mars" with Hamell on Trial), old-school country (a gender-reversed "Don't Come Home a Drinkin' [With Lovin' on Your Mind]" cut with BR5-49), balls-out rock & roll (the Wildhearts sit in on "One Less Heartache"), and subtle acoustic ballads ("I Dreamed My Baby Came Home," with Rose and Kaplan). If All Over Creation lacks the tighter focus of A Pocketful of Soul, its eclecticism certainly mirrors the embrace of country and rock in all their forms that fueled Ringenberg's music with Jason & the Scorchers, and there are more than a few truly stellar tracks here: a new version of "Bible and a Gun" featuring superb vocals from Steve Earle, a masterful tune about the Irish emigration; "Erin's Seed," recorded with Lambchop; a striking bluegrass version of the Gun Club's "Mother of Earth"; and a beautiful lament for the changing south and the ravages of time, "Last Train to Memphis." Despite the many talented guest stars on hand, this is Jason Ringenberg's show, and All Over Creation proves once again as both a singer and a tunesmith, he's a talent to be reckoned with. Great stuff.