After his minor hit "Mr. Bojangles" and strange 1969 sophomore solo album
Five Years Gone,
Jerry Jeff Walker made the (moderately) more bluesy and countrified
Bein' Free, a strong album on which he wrote nine of the 11 songs. "I'm Gonna Tell on You," a funny anti-hypocrisy singalong, kicks things off, and the album moves from there into the sorts of poetic singer/songwriter creations that could just as easily have landed
Walker's records in the folk or rock bins. "A Secret" makes good use of
Michael Utley's organ, "Vince Triple-O Martin" and the stripped-down "Harmonica Talk" are blues-based stompers, while most of the remainder is comparatively hushed and introspective.
Bein' Free is a freewheeling and fun affair from one of country music's most original Yankee practitioners. ~ Greg Adams