Since Ray Wylie Hubbard reappeared on record in the late '80s, he's been continually honing and refining his sound, getting as close to his muse as possible; now they rub up against one another heatedly. These paths have led Hubbard down the path of the dusty, bleary-eyed, weather-beaten, spiritually hungry poet -- Dangerous Spirits, Loco Gringos Lament, Crusades of the Restless Knights -- the itinerant Texas rockers, Eternal Lowdown and Growl, and the folkie Delirium Tremolos. Having followed the winding and beckoning call of the creative heart is not an easy task, but with Snake Farm, it seems he has found the place he's always hearkened to enter fully: the swampy, greasy, gritty blues and country-rock he heard in the Oklahoma wind all those years ago. This doesn't mean, of course, that the poet has gone missing, nor has the folkie troubador; they've been integrated. Hubbard co-produced the record with Gurf Morlix, and the band is small: Hubbard, Morlix, Rick Richards, and George Reiff form the core. The are a few guests, most notably Ray Bonneville, Jeff Plankenhorn, Peter Rowan, Ruthie Foster, and Hubbard's 13-year-old son Lucas wailing on his six-string on Old Guitar.