Jamey Johnson is a successful songwriter on Nashville's Music Row, who has authored hits by George Strait, Trace Adkins, George Jones and Joe Nichols. That Lonesome Song, Johnson's debut album as a performer, is a happy throwback to the outlaw country of the 1970s, with his gruff, character-filled vocals surrounded by a small, rocking combo including pedal steel, organ and fiddles. Rather than the polished soft rock of so much contemporary Nashville product, That Lonesome Song is a rough and ready honky-tonk album that compares favorably to Waylon Jennings and early Steve Earle. Highlights include "Mowin' Down the Roses" and the celebratory "Between Jennings and Jones."