After falling in love with Shea's most recent CD, The Town Where I Live, I decided to purchase this one to see if I liked it as well. Yep. Sure did.Another reviewer here compared Rick Shea's work on this CD with Dave Alvin, but I don't hear that. Maybe it's just my admittedly unprofessional ear, but the tunes, the lyrics, the heart of Shea's music remind me mostly of Jason Isbell. There is an honesty and candor in these songs and their delivery that is both rare and extremely resonant.Here are just a couple of my favorites:Mexicali Train: I can almost see Johnny Cash standing in the background, arms folded across his chest, listening to this song and nodding his head in approval. Favorite lyric: "...as I struggle with the ghosts that followed me onto this Mexicali train." So true. We can run, but our troubles, like a dark shroud attached to us by a gossamer thread, follow us wherever we go.Gregory Ray DeFord: If you don't know the true story of the man who fell on hard times, look it up before you listen, and the song will haunt you as it does me, often eliciting tears. I've been almost there. I feel his pain in my bones when I listen to this lament.John Shea from Kenmare: This one also makes me misty-eyed, mostly due to the theme that love can save us from the direst of circumstances, but also because of its homage to an old American folk tune. Love this one the best.Sweet Bernadine: I don't know why. I just find myself singing it a lot.Time to Say Goodby: Another haunting melody with equally haunting lyrics. Really good stuff for its simplicity.Generally, when I get a new CD (because, yes, that's still how I get my music), I throw it in the CD player of my truck and listen to it as background while I'm driving. The songs that repeat later in my head are the ones I know I'll really like when I give the music a closer listen. This has been true with Rick Shea's work; it stays with me long after I turn off the stereo or my iPod. I love what he's doing, and I hope he keeps after it.