Robbie Robertson has made the best album in his solo career. A sonic delight. His guitarplaying is at a level I didn't think I'd hear again. Wailng, distorted solos, clean tight riffs, bluesy rhythm and leads, fingerstyle acoustic work not heard in years.

The songs are largely autobiographical. Recalling his days as a teenager on the chitlin circuit. The return to Yonge St. playing with Ronnie Hawkins and the rest of the musicians that would make up The Band.

He sings in the familiar low slightly raspy tone that shows more versatility than usual. He sings about asking for redemption about mistakes made in the past. He even sings "I never wanted to walk away from the boys like that. We drifted away, I could no longer strike up The Band".

There's several guest performers, most importantly Eric Clapton who cowrote and plays on most tracks. The two engage in some incredible soloing, both using their deep blues roots to maximum effect.

Steve Winwood plays a killer B-3 throughout. No vocals just fitting his parts in perfectly in the mix.

The most interesting guest spots go to Trent Reznor and Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. A couple of artists that don't instantly come to mind instantly as being influenced by The Band or Robertson. The track featuring Morello is pretty cool. Both men playing loud effects driven solos, fast tremolo picking shows he has no problem keeping up with Morellos style.

That's enough of a sales pitch. Pick up this one, you won't be disappointed. picking showing Robbie has no trouble keeping up with a player like Morello.

That should be enough of a sales pitch, seriously it's one of the best albums of the year.