Record Reviews

Don Henley

Album: “Cass County”

Grade: A

As a principal member of the Eagles, Don Henley helped take country-rock to the masses with such hits as “Take It Easy” and “Tequila Sunrise.” On his latest solo album, he makes an impressive foray into straight-up, no-frills country.

“Cass County” (named after the place in Texas where he grew up) finds Henley teaming with another noted rock drummer, Stan Lynch, formerly of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, as writer and producer. They have crafted an exquisite set whose numerous guests — from Mick Jagger and Merle Haggard to Dolly Parton and Miranda Lambert — only enhance the timeless beauty of their own work.

With empathy and a lack of affectation, Henley and Lynch tackle age-old country themes such as living off the land (“Praying for Rain”) and working-class job struggles (“Waiting Tables”). Which is not to say Henley isn’t on occasion his notoriously irascible self. “Don’t tell me to take it easy,” he spits out on “No, Thank You,” in what is perhaps a subtle dig at the band that made him famous.

—Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

Brothers Osborne

Album: “Pawn Shop”

Grade: A

Brothers Osborne open their first full-length album, “Pawn Shop,” with the slinky sting of John Osborne’s slide guitar set against younger brother T.J. Osborne’s sinewy baritone, which finds a slow-rolling rhythm of its own.

Right off, on the song “Dirt Rich,” the duo establishes a slyly funky style of their own. Working with producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town), the brothers create a distinctive sound rooted in bluesy country soul yet wholly modern and engaging.

The two previously released a five-song EP and achieved a T op 5 hit last year with “Stay a Little Longer,” included here. So is “Rum,” the catchiest drinking song of recent vintage, and “It Ain’t My Fault,” as clever as any night-gone-wild tune that country music has offered since the heyday of Alan Jackson and Toby Keith.

—Michael McCall, Associated Press