"Hey Man" takes up reggae shuffle or silent spaces in a tribute to Charlie Haden as Cardenas and Horton are in firm agreement playing together, "Weazy" takes the Bill Frisell country and Eastern concept to a different level, and the static "Blabbermouth" is another reworking from previous ideas. Several of these selections are reworked from past years or other Allison albums. There are pieces like "Tricky Dick" - for Vice President Dick Cheney - that reflect the plucky, sneaky, worrisome nature of the person it is written about, while "Talking Heads" is a sad and weary song about the incessant nature of television pundits, perfectly translated into music. Allison is the ringmaster without proclaiming it, working from within to express his outraged viewpoint in a controlled, measured instrumental voice. Electric guitarist Steve Cardenas is an emerging voice at this time in his career and accents Horton's anguish, while drummer Jeff Ballard lays down beats either pedestrian, in waltz tempo, or stomping. Trumpeter Ron Horton harnesses some sort of anger or frustration, playing in a somewhat constrained but not shout-down manner as he constructs lead melodies and complex lines.
Mincing no words or notes, Allison and his strong quartet make statements in rock and funk modes with jazz sensibilities, based on his feeling about how the government botched nearly everything to the point where his America became unrecognizable. Bush administration's handling of the U.S. Cowboy Justice is bassist Ben Allison's direct musical retort to the George W.
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