The opening track of The Grifter s Hymnal, Coricidin Bottle , tells you everything you need to know about Ray Wylie Hubbard in just under two minutes. He s the kind of scrapper poet with the devil-may-care wherewithal to write both lay down a groove like a monkey getting off and shakes the mortal coil round my amaranthine soul into the same song- and the lethal charm and chops to pull it off.