Jamey Johnson's The Guitar Song isn't just the best country record of last year. It's a double album split into two halves — The Black Album and The White Album — so it's the best two albums. Not to be confused with the works of Jay-Z or the Beatles, the first half of The Guitar Song picks up with Johnson in a dark place, encompassing nearly every facet of regret, reflection and redemption before he comes out the other side at The White Album's conclusion. On the title track, Johnson enters a pawnshop and meets up with a dusty old guitar once played by Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash and Lefty Frizzell. The spirit of outlaw country is alive in Johnson and his band. They sound like they'd be more at home at a honky-tonk, but Johnson and his crew should still be able to turn the Sprint Center into their roadhouse.
