Tom T. Hall's fifth album was his real breakout record. The single "The Year Clayton Delaney Died"—a salute to a (fictional) beloved musical ne'er-do-well—was Hall's first to cross over to the pop charts. As on his earlier classics, he's as much of a short-story writer as a songsmith here, often eschewing traditional verse-chorus form in favor of narratives full of telling detail. Some are existential tales of encountering everyday people and their travails ("It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines"), and some are subtly powerful portraits of the social change he saw happening in rural areas ("Kentucky, February 27, 1971")—but they all pack a potent mix of humility, humor, and hard-won wisdom.