The pairing of Bill Morrissey and Greg Brown makes sense; both have crafted earthy-but-poetic folk tunes and delivered them in appealingly craggy voices full of hard-earned wisdom. But almost all the songs Morrissey and Brown tackle here were penned by others, so Friend of Mine offers a unique perspective on the pair's musical mindsets as they dig into traditional tunes like "Duncan and Brady" and the almost-title track "He Was a Friend of Mine," country (Hank Williams' "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"), blues (Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster"), and the songs of fellow folkies like Danny O'Keefe ("The Road") and Ferron ("Ain't Life a Brook").