Posts Tagged ‘Honky Tonk’

Justin Haigh: People Like Me

Saturday, July 16th, 2011

Texas-based newcomer sings throwback honky-tonk

Newcomer Justin Haigh open his new album with a terrific single, “All My Best Friends.” His original tune pulls together classic country word play (“all my best friends are behind bars”), a clever roll of call brands and throwback twang that’s heavy on the fiddle and steel. His spirit friends visit a second time for the mid-tempo two-step blues, “Jack Daniels on Ice,” a song that finds Haigh sitting out a chilly situation at home in the welcoming confines of his local bar. Raised on a South Dakota ranch, Haigh was steeped in Merle, Waylon, Lefty and Hank from a young age, and after a restless adolescence he resettled in Texas. Haigh’s working class roots are proudly declared and staunchly defended in the album’s title track, and nods to Waylon Jennings with some terrific guitar figures.

Producer Lew Curatolo balances the throwback numbers with a few ballads and up-tempo tunes lined by contemporary rock guitars. The latter may draw radio play, but it’s drowning one’s sorrows, breaking one’s vows (“Is It Still Cheating,” co-written by Jamey Johnson) and doing one’s time (“In Jail”) that give this debut its real kick. Haigh’s voice often resembles Tracy Lawrence, but on Mary Gauthier’s “I Ain’t Leaving” he musters the sort of strength plied by George Strait. His second nod to Jennings adds an Allman Brothers flavor to a cover of “Rose in Paradise,” and the album closes with Kevin Higgins’ “Gathering Dust,” declaring long-term dedication to the musical road upon which Haigh is embarking. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

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Mel Tillis: The Best of Mel Tillis – The Columbia Years

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

The missing chapter of Mel Tillis’ singing career

A decade before Mel Tillis found 1970s fame as a singer on Kapp and MGM, he recorded a number of terrific, often adventurous sides for Columbia. Tillis had been writing hits for years charting sides with Webb Pierce, Bobby Bare, Stonewall Jackson and others, but his own singles, including “The Violet and a Rose” and “Sawmill,” found only limited success. Legacy’s 24-track collection, a digital download reissue of Collectors’ Choice’ out-of-print CD, is a treasure-trove of Tillis originals, many co-written with Wayne Walker. Many of these titles were hits for other singers, including eight for Pierce, and while it’s a treat to find Tillis’ original versions of “Honky Tonk Song,” “Holiday for Love” and “A Thousand Miles Ago,” it’s even more interesting to hear the range of styles he tried out. There are Louvin-inspired harmonies inn “Georgia Town Blues,” a twangy proto-rock guitar in the tall tale “Loco Weed,” a calypso beat for “Party Girl,” and a cover of “Hearts of Stone” (which was also recorded by Elvis Presley, Connie Francis and Red Foley) that has wailing sax and Cameo-Parkway styled backing vocals. Tillis’ lack of hits at Columbia no doubt contributed to his stylistic flexibility, and though he sounds most deeply at home on honky-tonk sides “Heart Over Mind” (a hit for Ray Price) and “Tupelo County Jail,” he remained engaged and enthusiastic when singing the Johnny Horton styled historical tale “Ten Thousand Drums” and teen tunes like “It’s So Easy.” Tillis would found tremendous fame as a singer and personality in the 1970s, but these earlier sides for Columbia show convincingly that his success in the spotlight should have come much sooner. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

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Dolly Parton: Wanted

Friday, December 31st, 2010

Rare and previously unreleased early Dolly Parton tracks

Though the first three tracks of this collection are sung by an unknown vocalist, the remaining sixteen are by all accounts sung by Dolly Parton. More importantly, seven of these tunes (tracks 4-10) are rare, previously unreleased tracks that appear to be from Parton’s years with Monument. The remaining ten tracks are drawn from her out-of-print Monument albums Hello I’m Dolly and As Long as I Love. Though no credits are provided, the seven newly discovered tracks sound as if they were recorded during the pre-RCA years in which Parton tried out country ballads and honky tonk, often with pop, jazz, folk and blues inflections. Several of the songs were recorded by other singers (George Morgan recorded “Not From My World,” Kitty Wells issued a single of “Only Me and My Hairdresser Knows” and Tammy Wynette waxed “Send Me No Roses” for a 1967 album), but this appears to be the first time that Parton’s versions have been widely released. Though the audio quality is variable (better for the unreleased cuts than the previously released album tracks), this is a real treat for Dolly Parton fans, and one that may not be on the market for long. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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Jesse Dayton: One for the Dance Halls

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Heartfelt Texas dance hall honky-tonk

The Texas-born Jesse Dayton was weaned on classic country, taking particular interest in the sounds of George Jones and Lefty Frizzell, and the firebrand individualism of Waylon, Willie and the boys. He developed a presence in the alt.country world as his 2001 release Hey Nashvegas seemed to both critique and court Music City. The album’s mainstream touches couldn’t hide lyrics more deeply personal than the typical Nashville songwriting appointment could produce, and his underlying fealty to rockabilly, honky-tonk, Cajun and latin sounds was similarly out of step with country radio hits. Though he released an album of soul-tinged country in 2004 and an album of covers in 2006, he dropped off of many country music fans’ radar. But Dayton didn’t stop making music.

In 2005 Dayton released Banjo & Sullivan: The Ultimate Collection 1972-1978 as a fictional aside to Rob Zombie’s Devil’s Rejects, went on to contribute songs to the Halloween 2 soundtrack, recorded a follow-on as Captain Clegg, and released a superb album of hardcore honky-tonk duets, Holdin’ Our Own, with Brennen Leigh. Dayton doubles-down on the honky-tonk roots on this latest album, cranking out the sort of shuffles, two-steps and waltzes that make Texas dance halls such special places to listen, dance, romance and drink away one’s problems. The opener perfectly captures the magical feeling of a Saturday night, spinning away your aches and pains, taking a smoke break in the dirt parking lot, and tipping the band (with cash or a drink) for that special song.

The rhythm section sets the pace, but Warren Hood’s fiddle and Nat Flemming’s pedal steel supercharge the performances. Dayton revs things up with the freewheeling hoe-down “Camden Town,” and though he might be a quart low on love, he hangs on to his optimism with “Pretty Girls Make the World Go ‘Round.” Things aren’t so sunny for the bloodshot morning-after of Nick Lowe’s “Lately I’ve Let Things Slide” or the chilly relations of Billy Donahue’s “Back to Back.” Damon Bramblet’s “Falling Apart” is given a two-step beat that improves upon the Johnny Cash train rhythm of the original, and Bramblett’s anniversary waltz, “The Years,” is sung with an emotional quaver aside Mickey Raphael’s harmonica.

Thursday night gigs at Austin’s Broken Spoke have honed Dayton into the very thing he most admired as a child: a country singer. His voice has deepened and weathered favorably over the years, getting him closer to Dale Watson territory. Brennan Leigh provides the perfect vocal foil, particularly in duet on “Falling Apart.” The album has the arc of a live set, mixing two-steps, ballads and closing with the Western swing of “Texas Bound.” You can easily imagine the dancers taking one more whirl around the floor before heading out to their pickup trucks, the band packing up, and everyone going home feeling satisfied. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | One for the Dance Halls
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The Derailers: Live! From Texas

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

The Derailers tear up the honky-tonks!

When the Austin-based Derailers broke out with 1996’s Jackpot, their Bakersfield twang reawakened the ears of many honky-tonk fans. The band’s main inspiration, Buck Owens, was still holding down a weekend gig at his Crystal Palace, but it was the Derailers who took their Fender guitars on the road and stirred up dance floors coast to coast. The band wrote killer original material, picked some mean guitar and sang with the conviction of Owens, Merle Haggard and Wynn Stewart. As the band evolved they took on other characteristics of Owens and his Buckaroos, tipping their hat to pop music with a twangy take on Prince’s “Raspberry Beret,” a driving cover of the Crystals’ “Then She Kissed Me,” and guitars that recalled both the Beach Boys and the British Invasion.

In 2003, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Tony Villanueva left shortly after the release of Genuine (their second and last album for Sony’s Lucky Dog imprint), and the band’s co-founder, Brian Hofeldt, stepped forward to sing all of the lead vocals and write the band’s new material. The Derailers returned to the indie world and pressed on with new albums in 2006 and 2008, a Buck Owens covers record in 2007, and most importantly, years of roadwork in the honky-tonks of Texas. As good as the band’s albums have been, their live shows have always been their raison d’être. These fifteen tracks were recorded in 2009 and 2010 at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton, TX and the legendary Gruene Hall, and provide a good feel for an evening spent in the company of a great country dance band.

The song list sticks mostly to Hofeldt’s originals, adding covers of Marty Robbins’ “Knee Deep in the Blues,” Buck Owens’ “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass,” and Wynn Stewart’s “Come On.” Villanueva’s vocals are still missed, but Hofeldt’s grown into a truly compelling (and at times, very Owens-eque) leader and lead singer. The band has the practiced swing of a road-cured honky-tonk band, and Hofeldt doesn’t just channel Roy Orbison on “I See My Baby,” he reincarnates the loneliness that first inspired the composition. The songs easily combine country, pop and soul, and while this set is no substitute for hearing the Derailers in person, it’ll bring back great memories of your two-steps around the dance floor. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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Manning-Dickson: Drive

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Strong male duo sings honky-tonk, acoustic roots and 70s-styled harmonies

After listening to this Ft. Worth band’s debut, one might assume they’ve spent some time playing cover songs. That might be read as an insult, but it’s not; it’s an acknowledgment of the ease with which they cover a lot of country, country-rock and soft-rock sounds. The album opens with the foot-stomping “Cold as Her Heart,” effortlessly throwing out the lyrical hook, “if I could only find a beer as cold as her heart.” But the song’s harder honky-tonk sound is a bit of head fake, as the duo moves on to smooth, Eagles-styled harmonies that bring to mind ‘70s acts like Gallery, Brewer & Shipley, Alabama and the Stampeders. A little research reveals that Jason Manning leads the Eagles tribute band, 7 Bridges, and brings his influences with him to this duet.

The album punches up the vocals into modern rock-based country on the title track, but it’s the softer songs that really hit home. The whispery harmonies of “No More California” and West Coast sunshine pop of “Backroads” are superb. After tracking through all ten originals, the leadoff turns out to be an anomaly, which isn’t really disappointing – since the rest of the album is so perfectly tuneful. Perhaps there’s more boot scootin’ in their live set, but their quieter songs – including an acoustic reprise of the title tune – show this band’s ace-in-the-hole is their vocal prowess. Now that Brooks & Dunn have finally retired, perhaps Manning-Dickson can break through as a duo! [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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Zane Williams: The Right Place

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Excitingly unaffected Texas honky-tonk voice

There are voices that immediately announce themselves as something you’ve never heard before, there are voices that are so anonymous as to blend into the background, and there are voices like Zane Williams’ that lay in between. His singing is not immediately recognizable as a new tone or style, but there’s an excitement in his delivery that jumps off this latest record. What’s especially intriguing is how he combines the humble and direct style of someone like Bruce Robison with the honky-tonk extroversion of Robison’s brother Charlie. The Abilene-born Williams relocated to Nashville for nine years and released a string of indie albums that started to find a bit of twang with 2000’s Fast Licks and Toothpicks.

A couple of years after releasing 2006’s acoustic country Hurry Home, Williams returned to Texas and discovered his roots still intact. Together with producer Radney Foster he’s retooled himself as an electric honky-tonker, freeing himself to indulge his native twang on the roadhouse circuit through which Jack Ingram and Pat Green each found huge regional followings. Though recorded in Nashville, Foster and Williams conjure the wooden floors and neon beer signs of Texas dance halls, not least of which through Williams’ songs. The opener, “The Right Place,” offers a warm welcome from the regulars at the bar, and his incredibly clever “99 Bottles” turns the round into a tongue-twisting, thirst-quenching recitation of beer brands.

Williams’ ten originals tread tried-and-true subjects, but even there he finds some original and clever twists. The kiss-off “Tired of Being Perfect” isn’t due to cheating but the result of an overly-demanding mate, the bluesy “I Am What I Am” allows Williams to imagine other occupations as he stands firm in his commitment as a musician, and “The Cowboy and the Clown” peels away self-prescribed illusions of diminished expectations. The album closes with an original Christmas song that wipes away years of bad times with the miracle of a new baby. It’s a heartfelt (if perhaps a tad treacly) ending to a fine album that otherwise avoids the softer style Williams had developed in Nashville. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | 99 Bottles
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David Serby: Honkytonk and Vine

Monday, May 11th, 2009

davidserby_honkytonkandvineTerrific throwback to mid-80s West Coast country

Though he grew up in Illinois with adoptive parents, Serby’s a bona fide throwback to the throwback sounds of mid-80s Los Angeles. Ironically, he was born in Los Angeles to a biological father, only recently discovered, who was also a country musician. Serby’s honky-tonk swells from the same roots as the Blasters, but with a deeper helping of the country twang and two-step rhythms Dwight Yoakam brought to the scene. Serby’s vocals favor a gentler version of the Blasters’ Phil Alvin, but he also dips into a croon, such as with the Tex-Mex “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” splitting the difference between Yoakam and Ricky Nelson. The influential echoes are a bit eerie, but the swinging and songwriting are the real deal.

The album opens with twangy electric guitar and hot fiddle licks on the car themed “Get it in Gear.” Serby chases the object of his affection with enough hot rod allusions to make Brian Wilson and Roger Christian smile. He rains tears into his beer, despairs of cheating, and chases the tail-ends of revolving relationships to emerge with a sense of redemption when the dumper finds herself the dumpee. He writes sad songs, but doesn’t sing them sad as the band mostly sticks to jaunty mid-tempos. The down-tempo numbers, including the empathic ballad “Tumble Down,” and country soul “Honky Tonk Affair” are terrific, making you wish Serby would slow down a bit more often.

Serby’s a superb craftsman, expanding clever song titles into lyrics whose rhymes flow as smoothly as conversation. He’s just as clever with his music, mixing up straight two-steps, accordion lined Tex-Mex, Bakersfield sting, and Blasters-styled blue roots-rock. His band is terrific (the rhythm section of bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Gary Ferguson is truly propulsive), as is guest steel from Rick Shea and the legendary Jay Dee Maness and fiddle from Gabe Witcher. Adding to the historic coincidence, Maness played with Serby’s birth father in decade’s past. Shaking off a career in insurance, Serby indulged unknown musical genes and crafted a career filled with the joy of making music. That joy is in every country root he intertwines here. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | I Only Smoke When I’m Drinkin’
David Serby’s Home Page
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