Ever since their 2005 collaboration on the EP, 's wanted to work again with and on another record, and vice versa. The holdup was the busy work and life schedules of the three simpatico musicians; it took many years until they could find time to rekindle the creative spark that they had shown on the EP. They finally were able to clear some precious schedule space and in late 2018 spent four days in a Nashville studio working on songs with the help of members of (trumpeter , pedal steel player ) along with keyboardist and bassist of the touring group. Unlike the previous EP, where brought all the songs and the guys basically served as his backing band, on contributes a couple songs, and throughout the brief session there was a spirit of improvisation and a free and equal exchange of musical ideas. This sense of balance made it a true collaboration where each artist added something important to the other's approach. The wide-screen, wide-open sound of loosens up the sometimes cloistered feel of 's records, and the lyrical grace and melodic craft of 's songs give focus and depth to the sound bring to the table. As one might expect, the album is lodged firmly in ballad mode with loads of timeworn wisdom and easy musicianship baked into the arrangements. "What Heaven's Left" is a lilting country-rock gem enlivened by 's swooning trumpet and given emotional depth by the heart-rending mix of 's lead and ' backing vocals; the -written and sung "Midnight Sun" is a shuffling, shimmering track that sounds like left out to cook in the desert -- especially when the biting guitar leads take over; and the title track is a slow-motion lament made beautiful by 's harmony vocals. A few songs ramp up the energy level a tiny amount with some barroom rumble on "In Your Own Time" (an old song of 's that is given an update), a little rambling strut on the stately "Father Mountain," and some cinematic grandeur on the middle section of "The Bitter Suite." That song, with its many sonic twists, and the short instrumental "Outside El Paso" are the purest examples here of 's expansiveness and sonic imagination. The whole record is a testament to the skills of everyone involved as writers, singers, players, and arrangers, an upgrade on , and exactly what fans of both bands would hope for in a collaboration. ~ Tim Sendra