Hank Williams III - Risin' Outlaw (25th Anniversary) [Colored]

Hank Williams III's Risin' Outlaw returns as a 25th Anniversary Edition on 140-gram colored vinyl, a fitting way to revisit the debut that introduced country music's most unruly heir.

Released in 1999 on Curb, the album arrived with a heavy family name attached. Hank III is the grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr., and he had cut his teeth in punk bands before stepping up to the country microphone. Here he leans hard into traditional honky-tonk, and his reedy, high-lonesome voice carries an uncanny echo of his grandfather.

The songs stick close to classic country forms, full of hard-living stories, heartache and dance-hall rhythms. "If the Shoe Fits" and "Honky Tonk Girls" wear their old-school influences proudly, while "87 Southbound" keeps one eye on the highway. His take on "Cocaine Blues", the murder ballad made famous by Johnny Cash, hints at the outlaw edge he would sharpen on later records.

Across 13 tracks, the arrangements stay lean and traditional, leaving plenty of room for that voice to do the heavy lifting, just as the old masters intended.

For fans who know his wilder later work, this is the starting point, the moment a famous last name first became a sound of his own.