Category Archives: Random Reflections

Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Zac Brown Band–Uncaged

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Before I discuss their new album, I’d like to take a moment to talk about their masterpiece Uncaged, which is one of my favorite albums of all time.

Release Date: 2012
Style: grounded in country, but really with a little bit of everything, from reggae to country rock to bluegrass to R&B
Who Might Like This Album: really anyone, because there’s really something for everyone here…so, fans of good music
Standout Tracks: “Goodbye in Her Eyes,” “Sweet Annie,” “Overnight,” “Natural disaster,” “The Wind,” “Island Song,” “Lance’s Song”
Reflections: I just listed tracks 3 through 9 on this album, and yeah, it’s pretty much amazing song after amazing song right through that entire stretch. But really there’s not a bad song here, and if I were reviewing this today, I’d have to give it a ten. You can say what you want about this band and their genre bending, but it works fine on “Island Song” which is all but reggae country–by now I think ZBB have recorded enough songs to start this subgenre–and it works to absolute perfection on “Overnight,” which is a straight-up R&B seduction song. I think their last album took this too far in places, and it was certainly a jarring listen, but the length and the fluffy love songs always bothered me more than the exploration of other genres by this band. They needed a song on that record like “Colder Weather” or like “Sweet Annie,” the amazing standout love song from this album, certainly country and featuring lots of fiddle and the great harmony the band is known for. I can’t say enough about this album, and I don’t know if they’re ever going to top it, but the day they do will be incredible because this record is fantastic, and if they can manage to produce a better one, we should all be lining up to buy it. If somehow you have never sat down and listened to Uncaged, in its entirety and all its glory, please do it now. This is one of the best country records to have graced our presence in the past ten years, and maybe the best one out of the mainstream in that time frame. And by the way, when they say, “country should evolve,” this is the type of stuff they should mean–because this is how you stay grounded in country while delivering something fresh and unique and lasting.

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Random Reflections

Reflecting On: Dwight Yoakam – Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc.

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It was only a matter of time until I turned to classic country for my Random Reflections. I love lots of older artists and songs, so I’m extremely excited to be able to talk about them here. Today, I thought I’d feature one of my top favorites, Dwight Yoakam’s debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

Release Date: 1986

Style: Traditional Country

People Who Might Like this Album: Fans of fiddle and traditional country with faster tempos

Standout Tracks: “Honky Tonk Man,” “South Of Cincinnati,” “Guitars, Cadillacs,” “Miner’s Prayer”

The opening guitar of “Honky Tonk Man” is some of the catchiest I’ve ever heard. It immediately gets you in the mood for the faster tempo of the song. It’s about a man who constantly hangs out in the bar, only to want to go back home when he’s out of money. In addition to fun songs, there’s the classic “South of Cincinnati”. This is one of Dwight Yoakam’s best songs in my opinion. It tells the tale of a woman who writes letters to her ex saying that if he ever returns south of Cincinnati, she’d go back to being with him. The thing that makes this a classic is that she writes these letters for fourteen years and puts them in her Bible, never sending them. Then, you have the title track. It’s a deceptively upbeat song wherein he sings “guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music, is the only thing that keeps me hanging on”. I love it because it’s fun, but there’s also the emotion behind it, as the girl he loved ruined his naivety, and now he’s hanging on to what he knows. Lastly, there’s “Miner’s Prayer”. Dwight Yoakam is from Kentucky, so the fact that he did a song about a miner wanting to escape the mine was no surprise. However, I do love this song with its banjo and Dwight’s expressive vocals.

This album is still one of my favorites from Dwight Yoakam. He still plays many of these songs live today, and they have become some of his biggest hits. There are a few fiddle solos on this album too, and I love them. If you have never heard of or checked out Dwight Yoakam’s music, there’s no place to begin like the beginning.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2sdgBtAW8

Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Johnny Cash–Silver

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Let’s get this out in the open; my knowledge of country prior to 1990 is sketchy, and prior to 1980 it is pretty terrible. This is one of the reasons for the reflection pieces in the first place. Ever since I heard “Gold All Over the Ground,” I wanted to dig through the catalogue of Johnny Cash, and then, coincidentally, I was sent the recommendation “On the Evening Train” by my boyfriend Rob–that comes from a much later album, so I started working my way through that, and then I heard “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” also coincidentally, which led me to Silver. I’ve been expressly informed that this isn’t the “most accurate representation of Johnny Cash,” and I’m sure that’s correct because I don’t have much of an idea, but I really enjoyed this one, so I thought I’d share it with you all.

Release Date: 1979
Style: some traditional country, some blues, Apple Music mentions it being more mainstream which is probably why it might not be the most accurate representation of Cash
Who Might Like This Album: Johnny Cash fans, fans of country influenced with soul and blues, fans of story songs and imagery
Standout Tracks: “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” “Cocaine Blues,” “West Canterbury subdivision Blues,” “Muddy Waters,” “I’ll Say It’s True,” “I’m Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on my Old Guitar”
Reflections: Well, this is the first album that I have discovered doing this, as opposed to revisiting one and greeting songs like old friends. This was a new kind of experience, like listening to a new album, but in a different way, as if I’d found something that had been lost. As I say, there is a lot of bluesy influence in these songs, and I really enjoyed that style. The imagery is great, especially in “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” and “West Canterbury subdivision blues,” where the narrator sings about leaving his “queen” behind in their “castle” too much, “and that was no way to leave her.” Eventually, another man came along and “plucked my grapes from the vine.” I love the metaphors in this one, and listening to songs from this era really paints a picture of how far the quality of mainstream songwriting has slipped. There are some more traditional tracks too, like the humorous “I’ll Say It’s True,” with George Jones, and the closer, “I’m Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on my Old Guitar.” It’s a nice mix of styles, and overall, this album was just a really enjoyable listen that I know I will keep coming back to.

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Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Sturgill Simpson – High Top Mountain

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Sturgill Simpson is one of my favorite artists. He’s not afraid to experiment with his sound, or to write lyrics deeply grounded in real life. I know that his last two albums are the ones most talked about now, but I thought I’d discuss High Top Mountain. It’s the most country of the three albums Sturgill Simpson has released under his name so far, and it’s the one that introduced me to his music.

Release Date: 2013
Style: Traditional Country
Who Might Like this Album: People who love steel guitar and honest lyrics
Standout Tracks: “Life Ain’t Fair and the World is Mean,” “Water in a Well,” “You Can Have the Crown,” “Hero,” “Some Days”

Reflections: Right away, when “Life Ain’t Fair and the World is Mean” starts off, you know what you’re in for. The song’s fast, unashamedly country in instrumentation, and Sturgill Simpson’s voice is deep and Southern. The album does eventually slow down, but it starts with a whirlwind. When I first heard the beginning of this album, I was instantly in love. This is the kind of music I want to hear. The fact that his band is so talented with guitar, drums, and pedal steel is the icing on the cake. The lyrics, though, are what makes this album stand out. “that’s the way it goes, life ain’t fair and the world is mean” is part of the chorus. Unless you’re leading a charmed life, you can’t help but relate to that.

Things slow down though, for songs like “Water in a Well”, and the writing gets even better. “Our love has all dried up like water in a well” is such a fabulous line. The slower melody and the steel guitar really help to carry this song, too.

My absolute favorite track on this album is “You Can Have the Crown”. It’s like cynicism dialed to ten, and it’s fantastic. The song is fast, with great steel guitar, but the lyrics steal the show, once again. I mean, who says stuff like “They call me King Turd up here on Shit Mountain, if you want it you can have the crown”? Once you’ve gotten over that particular line though, you see that The magic of it is that it surprisingly works. He’s broke, is wife wants a child, and he’s over it all. I love it.

Before you think this album is all doom and gloom, listen to “Hero”. Sturgill Simpson tells the tale of his grandfather who helped him through hard times, and it’s one of the best songs about love for family I’ve ever heard. He praises the generosity of his relative, and his grandfather’s work ethic to provide for his wife. It’s truly a fantastic song. “I know I’ll never find another hero, not another one like him” tells you everything you need to know about this song’s theme.

“Some Days” is a great track too, where he claims “people only wanna be your friend if you’ve got something they need”. Again, this is extremely relatable, as most people in their life have known friends like this. It’s another cynical song filled with frustration, but the thing that keeps the album from becoming too repetitive is that it’s real-life frustration. He frames his stories around people and situations you can picture, or you know that someone else has been in.

I know that this album(and Sturgill Simpson himself), have been talked about endlessly for years. However, I just couldn’t let an opportunity to discuss him and this album pass by. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite album by Sturgill Simpson, but I love how extremely country this one is. His lyrics, whether about love lost, his heroes, or his frustration over life, are extremely well-done. I still come back to this album, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

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Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Pistol Annies–Hell on Heels

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IN light of the new Angaleena Presley album coming out Friday, I thought it fitting to reflect this week on the debut from a group that broke up entirely too soon, the Pistol Annies.

Release Date: 2011
Style: traditional country
Who Might Like This album: fans of traditional country, fans of any of the solo work by Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, or Angaleena Presley, fans of Sunny Sweeney
Standout Tracks: “Hell on Heels,” “Bad Example,” “Beige,” “housewife’s Prayer,” “Lemon Drop”
Reflections: Man, what an interesting album. Definitely more traditional than any Miranda Lambert album, it gave this group instant success and critical acclaim in 2011 and was, for me, a better album than Miranda’s Four the Record, released later that year. Consisting of Ashley Monroe, Lambert, and angaleena Presley, Pistol Annies made a name for themselves telling the stories of real people in real-life situations. There’s the Monroe-led “Beige,” a story of a shotgun wedding. There’s “Lemon Drop,” led by Presley, where the narrator speaks of better days as she tries to pay off her TV and buys curtains from the thrift store. There’s “Housewife’s Prayer,” a contemplative track where the main character casually considers burning down her house for the insurance money. Everything here is real and raw, and all these songs were written by the women in this group. This project was quite unpolished, and yet the quality of the music, the stories being told, and the incredible harmonies here made this album something beautiful and to be remembered. I am glad the success of the annies launched the solo careers of Ashley and angaleena, but here’s to hoping the group reunites sooner rather than later.

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