Going Down To the River

There’s no artifice to Doug Seegers’ hard-luck tales and heartbreak ballads—he lived them out for decades on the streets of Nashville before releasing Going Down to the River. His leathery, ache-tinged vocals and lyrically poignant songs both capture and transcend his years of homelessness and addiction, testifying to his survivor’s spirit. Self-penned tunes like “Angie’s Song,” “Memory Lane,” and “Lonely Drifter’s Cry” have the resonance of classic country, while covers of Hank Williams’ “There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight” (featuring Buddy Miller on vocals and guitar) and Gram Parsons’ “She” (a duet with Emmylou Harris) add to Seeger’s aura of rough-hewn integrity.