
'Song of 27,' Richard Buckner
From 1997's 'Devotion + Doubt'
As far as breakup records go, Richard Buckner's 1997 release 'Devotion + Doubt' is right up there with Bob Dylan's 'Blood on the Tracks.' Not to say that Buckner grasps the vox populi the way Dylan does, but even through a country noir delivery that is decidedly niche, 'Devotion + Doubt' is every bit as beautiful, devastating and relevant.
Buckner's feral Appalachian drawl comes down to a hush on 'Song of 27,' the final and most heartbreaking track on the record. Little is ever needed to accompany his voice and here, the spare guitar and pedal-steel arrangement frames it perfectly. Lyrically, Buckner's style is plain but never prosaic, casting long shadows and summoning precise details. On 'Song of 27,' he builds the story with, "I see her in the doorway/Staring a hole through it all/The first of many fits/And the last one was/Man the last one was ..."