Drunken Hillbilly Ballads makes "Americana in Paris" top ten releases of 2002! "Justin Owens describes himself this way: "I'm originally from Southern Illinois and have played dive bars around there for years. I've lived in Nashville for almost a year and I'm playing the dive bars around here now." There's a symmetry, then, in the title of his new independently-produced CD - Drunken Hillbilly Ballads - which makes still more sense when you consider his influences, which include Prine, Townes, Guy Clark and Tom House. Although his style is his own hybrid creation, you can particularly hear the House both in the music and in titles like ""Belly as Big as Texas," "Ain't Gonna Quit Drinkin'," and "UFOs Speak to Me Through Walls." Ably backed by John Wheeler (fiddle and bass), Don Wayne Reno (banjo) and Mike Daly (dobro) - this is a helluva record, folks, and deserves some real attention. " Michael Westerfield Sisyphus Tracks Internet Radio