Junior Brown's Live at the Continental Club: The Austin Experience is as true a representation of the skillful picker's set as you can get without stepping into a honky tonk and letting his deep baritone shake your bowels in person.

Brown has a fairly long history with The Continental Club. When the venue was struggling to get a loyal crowd, owner Steve Wertheimer offered a weekly show to Brown, who was fighting to make a place for himself in the crowded Austin scene. Before long, both he and the club hit big.

The Austin Experience was recorded at The Continental over two nights in April of 2005. It features a broad selection from Brown's repertoire and perfectly captures the essence that catapulted Brown to success. As fans have come to expect, Brown's dry wit serves as the perfect accent to his amazing dexterity on his custom twin guitar, which combines a standard guitar with lap steel and uses a stand for support rather than a strap.

In his popular "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," the recording sounds all the more inclusive thanks to the chorus of drunken attendees singing along. Another great track is "Party Lights," in which Brown bemoans how his celebrations end sourly when lit by the flashing lights of a police car. Let me be clear. This is not "Singing Bass" humor. This is the sorrowful cleverness found only in the heavies like Hank Williams.

There are 12 tracks total, including pleasers like "Broke Down South of Dallas," "Highway Patrol" and his show-closing "Rock and Roll Guitar Medley." Put it on at home and save yourself the bar fight.

PERMALINK • • RSS