Various Artists

The Music Inside: A Collaboration Dedicated to Waylon Jennings Vol. 1

It was the original outlaw, Waylon Jennings, who sagely advised “Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” He also penned the Dukes of Hazard theme and regularly rubbed elbows with The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Nine years after he succumbed to diabetes-related complications, the country music legend is being honoured by the biggest stars in the industry.

Here, the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Patty Griffin, Trace Adkins, Sunny Sweeney and James Otto, to name a few, cue up to pay homage to the “Ramblin’ Man” and take a kick at the rusty old can. The first of what is to be a trilogy of tributes, The Music Inside also features heartfelt performances by Waylon’s widow, Jessi Colter, and their son Shooter, who hand-picked the artists and songs for this compilation. Waylon himself can be heard accompanying John Hiatt on “Go Down Rockin,’” something the man seemed destined to do from the get-go. And The Music Inside only proves that.

Shooter Jennings & Hierophant

Black Ribbons (Bullet Version)

Waylon Albright “Shooter” Jennings, Southern-rock prodigy and the only child of American country-western royalty Waylon Jennings and Jessi “I’m Not Lisa” Colter, will celebrate his 32nd birthday this spring, along with the arrival of his second child with Sopranos actress Drea de Matteo. Born with a sheaf of wheat in his mouth, Shooter has steadily moved away from country and alt-country affiliations since the release of the decidedly rock-centric Electric Rodeo in 2006.

Focusing on crafting increasingly weighty opuses — revealing his psychedelic leanings — Shooter formed his prog-rock group, Hierophant, two years ago and signed on for Warped Tour in the hopes of re-establishing himself in a new genre. The resulting album, Black Ribbons, is a concept-driven extravaganza of dramatic rock overtures featuring the ominous narration of Stephen King.

Orwellian DJ Will o’ the Wisp is the album’s fictional hero, broadcasting on the final eve before a federal seizure of the airwaves. Admittedly reaching for Nine Inch Nails status, Shooter conjures up occult imagery and government conspiracies as he counters the culture of his forefathers with his own ranks of angles and demons. Here, his ultramodern soundscapes and equally twisted tales never fail to entertain, from the disenchantment of “Triskaidekaphobia” and “Everything is Illusion” to the catharsis of “F%#k You (I’m Famous)” and “California via Tennessee.” For Shooter, it’s apparent that the sins of the father and the fingerprints of the gods are all over this one.