Time and a bad virus have seasoned Ian Tyson's singing voice, as longtime fans of his music will notice, but on this 2009 release, the 75-year-old rancher and cowboy (formerly of Ian & Sylvia and Great Speckled Bird) makes the best of the situation by shifting into an appealingly rugged, raggedy sing-speak-drawl, not unlike Tom Waits' or Steve Forbert's. The vocal tone is entirely suited to the earthy country-rockers that populate the record. The set of songs hum with the high, wide, and lonesome sound of the Canadian plains, and feature a gorgeous lament for wolves (the title track) and the aching country ballad "Ross Knox." ~ Paula Carino