*** 6 String Drag

HIGH HAT

(E-Squared)

Add this Raleigh outfit to the roster of country-minded artists like the V-roys and Cheri Knight who have found a cozy little home on the E-Squared label of Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy. And chalk another one up for those boys, who sure do know how to pick 'em. 6 String Drag come at country-pickin,' foot-stompin', shot-shootin' goodness by way of the Stones' Let It Bleed -- even if Kenny Roby does sometimes sound a tad like Elvis Costello. But his voice, and his ability to turn a phrase, is where the Elvis similarity ends. This is a CD that spills over with lots of carousing gee-tars (Earle even drops by to pick a little acoustic on "I Can't Remember"), bass fiddles, mandolins, and even a honking sax or two. Steady strumming and drumming keeps tunes like "Ghost" and "Elaine" moving along at a nice, jaunty clip -- kinda like a pick-up truck bumping along a dirt track to the road house. 6 String Drag don't offer anything as essential as their boss's last few albums, but that's okay. Sometimes having a good time bumping along an old dirt road is enough.

-- Jonathan Perry