John Inmon

Songs for Heavy Traffic (Music Road)

Although best known as a member of Jerry Jeff Walker’s Lost Gonzo Band, John Inmon has lent his guitar playing to a who’s who of Texas music, including Townes Van Zandt, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Marcia Ball, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy LaFave, and Eliza Gilkyson. The all-instrumental Songs for Heavy Traffic, Inmon’s second solo effort, finds him in a “meditative” mode that recalls Chet Atkins. Balancing originals with pop standards, Inmon displays dexterous guitar play without being flashy that almost never drifts over the line to navel-gazing. It’s true that his own tunes, “Prelude” for example, step dangerously close to New Age territory, but Inmon lays it out with a Southwestern haze that will serve as the near-perfect soundtrack to dawn, dusk, or anytime after midnight.

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This article appears in September 26 • 2008.

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