is ' seventh and final album for . As such, it's transitional. As demonstrated by its immediate predecessors, 1978's excellent and 1977's , he was already messing with off-kilter rhythms even in the most conventionally structured blues and jazz songs, with nastier-sounding guitars -- he plays a particularly gnarly style of rhythm on this entire album. Five of these nine tracks are rooted in gutbucket blues with rock edges and primal R&B beats. By this time, his singing voice had deteriorated to a gasping-for-breath whiskey-and-cigarettes growl that could make words indecipherable from one another, but his jazzman-inspired phrasing more than compensated. Check the opening title track with its razored electric guitars ( guested on lead over several cuts), 's walking upright bass and natural sound, 's percussion shuffle, and 's tenor sax that makes ' vocal grimace and growl even more menacing. The tune details substance abuse, denizens of life's dark side, and a view of God and the Devil as sober and drunk sides of the same person. 's Hammond B-3 figures prominently on the low, slow blues instrumental "In Shades," which sets up the first of a series of memorable ballads. "Saving All My Love for You" could have appeared on , as ' piano and a string chart by frame a scenic, confessional, broken love song. "Downtown" adds funk to the blues, with 's organ in direct confrontation with distorted electric guitars and ' declarative guttural snarl. It sets up "Jersey Girl," a dramatic ballad that overlaps with the sound world of so much -- complete with glockenspiel -- that covered it, released it as a live B-side, and made it a part of his live sets for decades. But there's a difference too: also pays direct, unmasked homage to in its dynamic chorus structure and lush use of strings. "On the Nickel" is another of ' more arresting ballads evoking an earlier and grittier era in American life and culture. It was used as the title track of 's film of the same name -- scored the entire film. With its swaggering stride piano and guitar and NOLA-inspired R&B, "Mr. Siegal" is a gangster's boast that rivals the hip poetry of . The near baroque woodwind and reed chart that introduces album finale "Ruby's Arms" marks one of ' most beautiful and unusual ballads. 's use of strings as a frame for his singing is sparse and roomy, allowing the songwriter's piano to accompany his achingly sad vocal with all the poignancy, regret, and resolve that only the romantically bereft can muster. In sum, reveals just how much had grown during his tenure with . Though not perfect in sequencing -- the alternating juxtaposition of rowdy blues and heartworn ballads gets old -- almost every song stands on its own as a dusty gem. ~ Thom Jurek