Ray Wylie Hubbard Says His New Album Is His Best — And Likely Last

Few names unite the spectrums of country, rock, and folk music quite like Ray Wylie Hubbard . Since Jerry Jeff Walker first covered his “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” more than 50 years ago, Hubbard has been name-dropped by artists from Eric Church and Hayes Carll to Blackberry Smoke and Cross Canadian Ragweed. He counts Ringo Starr among his friends. It’s a circle of respect and admiration that the 79-year-old Hubbard is quick to embrace.

“It’s gratifying in a way that validates — OK, yeah, I can write these songs,” Hubbard tells Rolling Stone .

Occasionally, too, it leads to some head-spinning moments for Hubbard. When Mike Campbell of the Dirty Knobs (and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) mentioned to Starr last year that he liked Hubbard’s writing, Starr gave him Hubbard’s number and said, “Call him!”

Hubbard was nearly finished recording Reel 2 Reel 4 Real — his first studio album since 2022, which dropped this month — at Johnathan Tyler’s studio in Texas. Hubbard’s band, including his son, Lucas, on guitar, had been joined by friends like keyboardist Bukka Allen and mandolin player Cody Braun in recording the LP. But when Campbell asked Hubbard to fly to Los Angeles and record some songs at his studio, it was a no-brainer.

“He says, ‘What are you doing?’ and I tell him I’m making a record,” Hubbard recalls. “He said, ‘Come out here and do a couple!’ So, Lucas and I flew out there, and we cut with Mike. It was really quite a thrill. Those are the last two songs on the album.”

Hubbard says Reel 2 Reel 4 Real — his 20th studio record — is likely the last album he will release. If that proves true, he will have capped his catalog with the roots-rock sound that has defined his career. Hubbard’s gravelly baritone is complemented by guitars and keys, with zero polish. After cutting songs with Tyler and Campbell, he turned to his friend and occasional producer Gurf Morlix (Slaid Cleaves, Robert Earl Keen) to mix the project. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

“I’ve always liked records where it’s real guys really playing,” Hubbard says. “Like the first Buffalo Springfield, first Stones, you know? You could hear these guys. So, man, that’s the goal that we set. We wanted it to sound like those kind of old-school roots-rock records.

“As Gurf says, the way you make a roots record is, you take out the lip smacks and the coughs, but you leave in the stray noises, pedal squeaks,” Hubbard continues.

These days, Hubbard is an observational composer. “Songwriting, they say, is inspiration plus craft, right?” he says. The songs that make up Reel 2 Reel 4 Real are rooted in this approach. “She Plays Crazy Mama” was written on a whim after he listened to J.J. Cale’s “Crazy Mama” while recording with Campbell.