By the time Ray Wylie Hubbard released The Ruffian's Misfortune, the 68-year-old alt-country godfather had achieved almost mythological status in the Americana realm. Surrounded by blues-soaked barbed-wire guitar licks, Hubbard sounds like an apocalyptic Texas preacher invoking otherworldly powers on album-opener "All Loose Things." But his salutes to blues players Charlie Musselwhite ("Mr. Musselwhite's Blues") and Jessie Mae Hemphill ("Jessie Mae"), not to mention the unnamed rock & roll femme fatale of "Chick Singer Badass Rockin'," underline the fact that he remains as earthy and earthly as ever.