If you’ve ever seen Joe Ely, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Eliza Gilkyson, or other famed Austin singer-songwriter types perform, there’s a good chance Jeff Plankenhorn was onstage with them. A maestro on resonator guitar as well as “The Plank,” a stand-up lap steel he invented, the stringbender’s SoulSlide finds him out front on his own songs. A mix of soul and roots-rock with intriguing moments (previously unreleased Willis Alan Ramsey track “Mockingbird Blues,” a surefooted acoustic track), it also occasionally finds Plank trying too hard.

**.5

This article appears in June 3 • 2016.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US