Ray Wylie Hubbard Co-Starring (CD)

(Big Machine Records) 10 tracks

Ray Wylie Hubbard is the secret handshake amongst those who know. Earthy, real, funky, unabashed, his records have been swapped and played on the road by everyone from Blackberry Smoke and Georgia Satellites to Black Stone Cherry. “Snake Farm” alone could be the red-blooded touring male’s reality-based point of connection.

That passion for the man who’s as much a renegade poet as a roadhouse saint brought together an eclectic mix of guests for Co-Starring, his first ever high-profile label release. Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, Ronnie Dunn, Don Was, Larkin Poe, Pam Tillis and The Cadillac Three were just a few who clamored to jam, sing and generally be in the studio with the wizened icon.