Dog Eared Dream by Willy Porter

Dog Eared Dream was the 1994 album that finally carried Willy Porter's music to a wider audience, a record built around his acoustic guitar that critics praised and that still gets called his breakout. The Mequon, Wisconsin songwriter had barely been off the road since his first release in 1990, and here the picking and the songs came together.

"Angry Words" was the one that caught ears first, and radio also picked up "Rita", "Flying" and "Jesus on the Grille". Porter toured the country behind it, with his trio, the Willy Porter Band, featuring Steve Kleiber on bass and John Calarco on drums, opening for acts like the Cranberries, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tori Amos and Rickie Lee Jones. Private Music put the album out again in 1995.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.