Songs We Wish We'd Written II (Sugar Hill, 2012)

Pat Green was once the King of the Texas/Red Dirt music scene, and if "Songs We Wish We'd Written, Part II" is any indication, he's making a bid to re-claim his crown. The Waco native was maligned by the sub-genre's fans for the supposed sin of "selling out" to Nashville - something that actually paved the way for other Texas artists.

Green followed up the 2001 "Songs We Wish We'd Written" - a collaboration with fellow Texas Tech alum Cory Morrow - with this strong effort of 10 songs that features covers of an eclectic mix of rock - Collective Soul's The World I Know and Tom Petty's Even The Losers, folk/gospel such as "Streets of Galilee" and more.

Green, who turned 40 last month, has matured as an artist, and he puts his own unique spin on all of the songs - something that his longtime fans and new ones will appreciate. Green lets his hair down with Todd Snider's I Am Too, a straight-up rock town and shows a cool blues of Larry McCray's Soul Shine. The highlights include the high-energy Joe Ely cover of All Just to Get to You, which is sure to be a crowd pleaser and Shelby Lynne's Jesus on a Greyhound.