I baited Russell into saying that by complaining about my wife, who prefers to spin Iron & Wine CDs in the house while protesting that Russell sounds "too masculine." I never said I was a real journalist! By the way, Beam is neither original in voice, nor in concept. He sings weakly; his songwriting approach owes everything to Will Oldham. Also, Russell borrows little if anything from Mexican folk singers that I can hear. I hear Tennessee Ernie Ford. You know, like "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"? As for Dylan, he's now a total and complete caricature. But hey, if you enjoy Victoria's Secret promotions and Christmas albums, go for it. I imagine Russell was holding up Dylan (the good, earlier stuff) as a measure of artistic success, not as a point of comparison.
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