Fred Eaglesmith has been a favorite artist of mine since I first heard him nearly a decade ago. So, I was looking forward to his latest release with high expectations. Sometimes, high expectations can be the death knell for an album, but not this time. It may not be his best work, but it is very good. Milly’s Café is filled with the same kinds of blue-collar folksy alt country songs that have won his music many critical reviews. The high point of this ten-song CD is easily “Mrs. Hank Williams”. This is a perfect tribute to musician’s wives everywhere. In the chorus Eaglesmith sings, “Mrs. Hank Williams, crying all night long/Mrs. Hank Williams, waiting up ‘til dawn.” In the song’s closing verse, he sings of young girls outside the stage door that are “ready and willing to take the place any day of Mrs. Hank Williams.” I predict “Mrs. Hank Williams” is destined to become a favorite of his fans just like “Spookin’ the Horses” or “Alcohol and Pills” from his earlier releases. Like those songs – and nearly everything he writes – there’s an element of rich sadness that matches his languid melodies and road-weary vocals. Eaglesmith often writes about the trials and tribulations of everyday life among the less privileged in our society. On this album, he writes about truck drivers in “18 Wheels”; old cowboys in “Rocky” and “Tired”; and failed entrepreneurs in “Sign on the Wall”. The album’s title song, “Milly’s Café” is a great story within a story within a story song. In less than six minutes, Eaglesmith tells a story that could easily become a great novel or classic movie. Eaglesmith’s most ardent fans – known as Fredheads – will follow him to Boise if this Canadian singer-songwriter ever makes it here. If so, you’ll want to be there with them. To learn why, listen to his latest CD, Milly’s Café, for a modest taste of his songwriting genius.