Like the tough and timeless tales of Raymond Chandler, who sent his hard-boiled detective hero Philip Marlowe through the dark underbelly of the American dream, the music of Steve Ripley unflinchingly cuts through the emotional and spiritual wilderness of the 21st Century. And now, with his first-ever solo effort, Ripley, the gifted artist who continues to lead and produce the multi-platinum-selling act The Tractors, shows he has something else in common with Chandler’s Marlowe: a fierce and unshakable belief that no matter how bad or bleak life gets, there’s always the sweet hope of redemption.

Listen to his take, for instance, on the classic Carter Family song “No Depression.” Joined by The Whites, Ripley reconfigures the Depression-era wish for Eternal escape into an anthem for our time, all the while staying true to the sad but shining spirit of the original. His own “Crossing Over,” which closes the disc and finds him singing with the Jordanaires, picks up the same message and plunges it across the goal line. And in the brilliant “Too Many Borderlines” Ripley creates an impassioned look at crossed lines and ruined lives, weaving in a subtle but powerful message for all who take spirituality seriously.

At the same time, there’s an almost primal rootsiness spread throughout Ripley, with boogie and shuffle and rock ‘n’ roll rhythms working under inspiredly different instrumentation and vocals. Maybe “Mr. Jingle Jangle” will make think of the Beatles, or “Sweetheart Town” of the Eagles. But only for a moment. With precision and feeling, Ripley uses instrumental hooks and harmonic structures that sound familiar enough to strike a spark inside you, and then fans that spark into a flame with unique applications of rhythm, honesty, and intelligence.

For example, there's the CD's lead track and first single, “Gone Away.” In it, a litany of nostalgic touchstones becomes an elegy for a past life, echoing the longing of anyone who’s ever awakened at 3 a.m. wondering where life and youth went. Like many songs on the record, “Gone Away” sneaks up on you, accessible from the first few bars but not nearly as simple as it sounds. Like his namesake album, Steve Ripley has always defied categorization. Often, like his mentors J.J. Cale and Leon Russell, he’s considered one of the leading lights of the Tulsa Sound, that groove-based, spare-notes musical style that’s influenced everyone from Eric Clapton to Chet Baker. As the creator of the Red Dirt Records label back in the mid-‘70s, Ripley was also an inadvertent godfather to Red Dirt Music, whose rural but hip singer-songwriter approach has given birth to such contemporary acts as Jimmy LaFave, The Red Dirt Rangers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and The Great Divide. Now, once again, Steve Ripley stands at the forefront of a new musical movement, one that the old labels like alt-country, Americana, and country-rock don’t quite cover. It’s complex music that sounds simple. It’s exciting music that flows deep into your soul. It’s music for people who both think and feel.

It’s Ripley music.