Jerry Jeff Walker's debut introduced his dry vocals and narrative songwriting style, with support from many session musicians, the most notable of whom were
Ron Carter and
David Bromberg. The influence of
Bob Dylan and other singer/songwriters of the time is felt fairly strongly on this extremely low-key release (especially on the seven-minute "Desolation Row"-like "The Ballad of the Hulk"), but
Walker favored the country and folk side of folk-rock much more than the rock side. The title track, taken into the Top Ten by
the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, remains his most famous song. ~ Richie Unterberger