Robert Rex Waller Jr., See the Big Man Cry. For more than two decades, Robert Rex Waller, Jr. has been the lead singer for the country-rock group I See Hawks in L.A. He has always been one of its main songwriters but on this sophomore solo release and its predecessor, 2016’s Fancy Free, he has opted to stick to cover versions. The results are worth seeking out, thanks to the strength of his vocalizing, complementary backup, and the excellence of the material.
Among the 13 tracks to which Waller applies his powerful baritone: Bruce Springsteen’s “Tougher than the Rest”; the Walker Brothers’ “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore,” which Springsteen also recently covered; and the late Gene Clark’s “Gypsy Rider,” which the Byrds co-founder performed on a 1987 album with Carla Olson, who produced the new Waller CD.
