by Dave SlegerThis is the most consistent of the Lost Dogs albums. Understandably so, as Terry Taylor wrote ten of the 11 tracks. While previous Lost Dogs albums dabbled with blues, country, folk, gospel, and modern rock with varying degrees of continuity, Gift Horse has implemented those ingredients almost exclusively in a jangly, country-rock vein. This is Taylor's finest songwriting to date, at least from a melody standpoint. Lyrically, his themes have always centered around tongue-in-cheek queries into the challenges of righteous living and the foibles of human nature. In the '70s his band Daniel Amos released two dreadful albums with which they tried, in vain, to mimic the popular soft country-rock craze of that era. His work with the Lost Dogs is a true testament to his growth as a songwriter; 20 years later Taylor's country-tinged songwriting is nothing less than superb. He is joined again by singers and guitarists by trade Mike Roe, Derri Daugherty, and Gene Eugene, whose respective home-bands, the 77's, the Choir, and Adam Again are becoming more irrelevant with each passing year.