Product Review

These two LPs with bonus material (on a single CD) come from 1983. Castles. . . is one of the era's most underrated LPs - and one of the most haunted and strange. The title track is an autobiographical tribute to Bob Dylan as one of the two most misunderstood artists of his generation - Coe being the other. It's followed by a funky country reading of Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody with Lacy J. Dalton. Another highlight: an eerie cover of the The Ride (a #4 country hit in 1983), in which the ghost of Hank Williams makes an appearance to offer advice. Hello In There has two sides: country and city, and again Coe mixes his own songs with covers and revivals. John Prine's Hello In There and Jerry Butler's He (Will Break Your Heart) are standouts.