Zachary Lucky - Everywhere a Man Can Be (2016)

Lucky's not boasting; rather, he utters the lyric with flat out matter-of-factness. The Saskatoon bred songwriter's lyrics about the things he's borne witness to become more believable with each line on that song, especially when he sings, "I've seen the Rio Grande… I sang Townes Van Zandt." But Lucky wouldn't need to sing a single decipherable lyric to make the song believable its tearful pedal steel and, above all, his husky, weathered voice, sell its road weariness completely.

The title track, meanwhile, takes that geographic theme even further. Indeed, it's like a wistful revamp of Hank Snow's "I've Been Everywhere," as Lucky nostalgically name-checks nearly every Canadian province and why he enjoyed performing in them. It's followed by "Make it on Time," another ode to the open road with an equally bittersweet tone, thanks to its swaying violin notes and flaring guitars. Then, there's "Standin' in the Rain" where Lucky describes leaving "Oregon this mornin'" and the lovely lady he left behind, over upbeat blue grass fiddles. "Come and Gone" boasts even better lyrical turns, punctuated by gentle, strategic mandolin strums and pitter-patter drums as Lucky sings about "That all-night drive from Moncton to Sydney, thinking of all the time that's passed, and all my eyes have seen."

Enthralling as those songs are, listeners will be all the more captivated by the soft-as-a-whisper strumming of "South Colorado Murder Ballad," which is perfectly coupled with Lucky's equally hushed singing about guns that were "a blazin'" until his lover was left dead on the floor. Be it South Colorado, Moncton, or any point in between, listeners will feel privileged to accompany Lucky on this gorgeous, geographically themed LP.

TRACKLIST

01. Lost My Way (Now and Then)
02. Sell All You Have
03. Everywhere a Man Can Be
04. Cant Say Why
05. Make It on Time
06. South Colorado Murder Ballad
07. Come and Gone
08. Standin in the Rain
09. Wild Rose County