Driving guitars start off the new Jason Isbell song, and it immediately sets the mood. If you were expecting more of the acoustic-driven tracks you got from his last two albums, think again with this particular song, at least. I think this is a very welcome change. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Something More than Free and Southeastern. However, this change back to more rock songs is awesome. It’s fast, quick, and it catches you right away.
Now we get to the lyrics. Some of these seem fairly autobiographical, with him saying things like he’s sang enough about himself and he’s sick of the white man’s blues. The overall message I get from this song is that he’s over the negativity, and he wants to be happy. Included in this is the fact that he wants some vague person he mentions in the lyrics to find a world in which they want to live in, and to not be tired and angry.
After hearing this song, I’m interested to see what the rest of this album holds in store. I fully admit that I have yet to check out his first few records, but I’m a definite fan of Isbell and his music. If the other songs on The Nashville Sound are similar to this musically, I’ll be happy.
Okay, I’m not coming at this as some purist who has a problem with 90% of Faith Hill’s catalogue because it’s more pop/adult contemporary than country. I’ve enjoyed a good chunk of music by both these singers, and they’ve made some excellent songs together. For proof beyond my word, I suggest “Like we Never Loved at All,” “I Need You,” “Angry All the Time,” and “Meanwhile, Back at Mama’s.” That’s not even mentioning the two they’re probably most known for, “It’s Your Love and Let’s Make Love.” So the news that they’re releasing a duets album could potentially mean we’re getting some great music, and if Hill’s inclusion inherently means a more pop sound, I would think that is expected by now. So let’s just establish the fact this is a pop song, judge it accordingly–or not–and move on.
The song itself is about all the things a man should do in order to make a woman fall in love with him. The song explains she doesn’t care about money; she wants a man who respects his mother and treats her right. A pretty cool line is “she wants you to say what you mean and mean everything that you’re saying.” all in all, it’s a nice message and if it does well on radio at all, it will be a blessed contrast from the way radio hits normally speak about women. The two, as always, sing well together.
Still, even though it’s a good message, it feels underdeveloped. it could have been more specific, less generic. The lyrics are a little shallow in places, and I have no idea why sometimes the writers chose “she just want” instead of “she just wants” because it just sounds ridiculous. I guess it’s trying to sound urban or cool, but it really got on my nerves. IN the end, it balances out to just be kind of forgettable which means it will probably be a massive hit in today’s radio climate. Then again, there is a female, and the words are about respecting females, so that’s two strikes against it.
I really wanted to like this song, but it’s just there and really doesn’t do much for me either way. I hope the album will be better.
When Megan first approached me about checking out this album, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d actually never heard of AJ Hobbs, but when she told me he was saying his music was “outlaw soul”, I knew I had to give it a shot. Let me tell you, he delivers on both fronts.
This album was quite unique from anything I’ve heard in a while. AJ Hobbs is a good singer, with a nice soulful voice. His backing band was awesome, particularly his steel guitar player. He put horns throughout this album on occasion too, and I haven’t seen that since Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. Finally, there were his backup singers. They were soul singers, and even though they were just his backing vocalists, they really helped this album be more than just an outlaw country album. All that is to say that AJ Hobbs’ self-appointed label of “outlaw soul” is very fitting.
The opening track “Too Much is Never Enough” is pretty great. It’s fast with a party vibe. Except that the good times can actually be a bit too good. One beer is too much, but too much is never enough, as he says in the song. Things slow down for “Life Without You”. The sentiment of this track is nice because he’s basically saying his life, though crazy, isn’t worth living without his wife or girlfriend. The only thing that really made this song stand out is the tempo change and guitar solo near the end. “The Loser” starts a bit of a trend with this album. The main character is tired of his nine-to-five job, and the bindings of domestic life. He’d much rather be out on the road making music. I found AJ Hobbs’ portrayal of weariness quite convincing, and it definitely helps the song stand out.
Then there is “The Bottle Let Me Down”. It’s a cover of the Merle Haggard classic, with a slower, bluesy slant. There are some really great horns in this version. It’s not my thing personally, since I like the more country versions, but if you like soul and blues music, check this one out. “Daddy Loved the Lord” is one of my favorite songs off the album. It’s got some awesome piano in it for starters, even a solo. The actual lyrics are all about how a family split up due to a father who was a drug addict and alcoholic. He was religious, but he still couldn’t love his family enough to keep them all together. “East Side” isn’t my favorite song off of the album, but it has a nice theme behind it. The main character pledges to be there for a troubled movie star whom he loves, regardless of whether her troubles are of her own making, or just those of the fast changes of life.
“Shit Just Got Real” stands out right away due to the driving guitars and tempo. It’s a breakup song, where the main character is just tired of his life. He’s sick of being busy, is resigned to the fact that his wife threatens to leave him for being an alcoholic, and all he wants is just the money to pay his bills. This song’s instrumentation is great, with some very well-done guitar play. Once again, Hobbs skillfully portrays world-weariness. I love these kinds of songs from him.
I noticed the fiddle on the next song right away. “Are You Going to Tennessee?” is forgettable, other than that. It tells the story of a man who just wants to go to Tennessee where he could feel like he belonged, and not have to think about anything. The man is a musician, so it makes sense, but the theme of wanting to escape is a bit old at this point.
Due to this, “A Whole Lot of You and Me” is a nice break from all the tired songs on this album. It’s about a man who just wants to spend time with the woman he loves. A relatively happy song is nice to hear from Hobbs, even though it doesn’t completely stand out as unique. “Take it Slow” is the only duet on this album. It features Dominique Pruitt, whom I’d never heard of. I like how soulful her voice is. It involves two people meeting in a bar. The reason that that isn’t totally cliche is because you find out that the two are exes, who just can’t seem to leave each other alone. While I appreciated that it featured two exes, I thought the voices didn’t properly fit together. I ended up liking the duet more than I first thought, but it does take a minute to really get into the song.
“Waylon & Merle” shows off the steel guitar that’s so great on this album. The song itself is about a musician who has no luck, so he dedicates his songs to Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, because those two knew the secret to musical success, and that’s what he is striving for. Finally, there’s “Tomorrow I’ll be Hurtin’”. You’d think it is a party song, but no. In actuality, it’s one of the darker tracks on this album, since it features a musician, once again. He puts on a show for the crowd, but then struggles to make money the next day. I think this is a great song to close the album out with, because it really represents a lot of what AJ Hobbs is trying to say here.
With all that said, Too Much is Never Enough is quite a striking album. AJ Hobbs is very convincing in his portrayal of the world-weary man. He does repeat this theme quite a bit, but I just can’t help liking the songs. What can I say? I love a singer who can portray emotion with vocal skill and delivery. Plus, he reminds me a bit of Jackson Taylor on his faster songs with the outlaw attitude. I think if you like musicians who do what they want, and if soul music is even remotely appealing to you with your country, this will be an album you should check out.
Recently, a friend of mine, James, was wondering which country song was, in his words, “the most satisfying musically.” He stipulated that lyrics could not be taken into account; he wanted a song that stood out simply for its musicality. He had asked my boyfriend Rob, a fellow fan and student of country music, and Rob and I were stumped for some time. It’s more of a difficult question than it seems because country is a lyric-driven genre. Musical arrangements are generally simple, and it’s hard to find something especially mind-blowing musically within a genre that relies so heavily on storytelling to make its points. The best answer I could come up with at the time was Reba’s “The Night the Lights went out in Georgia.” but I didn’t have access to this album then. Way out West has not earned this rating for its lyrical content, and I think it will be misunderstood and perhaps underappreciated by some for that reason. Country listeners generally look for a story, for honest and clever songwriting, and that part of this record won’t blow you away. but what Marty Stuart has done here musically, capturing a place and time and setting it so perfectly to music, cannot be ignored, and the fact that his vision did not come lyrically makes it even more of a risk within the country format and therefore all the more remarkable.
That’s not to say that the lyrics are a weak point of this album, but you won’t find moments of lyrical brilliance. On a good portion of it, you won’t find lyrics at all. They seem to be placed into songs almost as an afterthought, and only where they belong. Probably the best songwriting comes on the title track, and there are some nice lyrical moments in “air Mail Special,” “Whole Lotta Highway,” and “Please don’t Say Goodbye” as well. As I say, it’s certainly not a weak point, but there is no cohesive story running through this record in the lyrics, and they won’t blow you out of the water on their own.
The story, and the thing that will blow you out of the water, is in the music and mood. The songs and lyrics aren’t all about the American West, but this record is western through and through. Like last year’s Southern Family, this is a portrait of a place and culture. But Southern Family relied on stories to be southern; this record relies on sound and mood to be western. There’s Native American influence and Mexican influence too, arguably making this an even better representation than Southern Family, a record noticeably lacking in African-American influence and thus ignoring a major part of Southern culture. Marty Stuart recognizes that Native American and Mexican influence are as important in painting a portrait of the west as desert ballads. The aforementioned “Please don’t Say Goodbye” has absolutely nothing to do with the West; you won’t even hear references to deserts or California or wide open spaces here, like you do on some of the other tracks that otherwise aren’t really about the West, but there’s still no doubt that this song is western and belongs on the record. It’s in the music and mood, and it allows Marty Stuart to explore other lyrical themes and still produce a cohesive album.
It’s also why there are so many instrumental tracks and why this review isn’t a track-by-track affair. When you drive across west Texas, and there’s emptiness around you for miles, words can’t do justice to the way you feel. The same thing applies to the mountains in Colorado and the Badlands in South Dakota. Words would be inadequate to describe any of this, and yet somehow this record paints pictures of it all. You get the feeling listening that Marty Stuart felt that, in some places, words would just be interrupting, and far be it for me to take an experience like this and break it down into words and tracks. And by the way, credit to The fabulous Superlatives, relied on so heavily to make this album and these pictures come alive.
All I can say about this record is go listen to it. Nothing I can write here will do it justice because it is an album meant to be heard to be fully appreciated. I said on Twitter, and Leon of Country Music Minds quoted me, that you have to be in a very specific, not necessarily sober, mindset to fully get this, and I think that’s especially true after a couple listens. But sober or not, it can blow you away if you listen, and if you’re in the right frame of mind to enjoy it. As I said, I think some will misunderstand it because country is such a lyrically focused genre, but this album tells a story in an understated way, in a way that so few country projects have done, and the risk it takes should be commended. Now, stop reading this and go listen to the best album of 2017 so far.
If Sunny Sweeney is a name you’ve never heard of, or maybe only know from that one top ten hit from a few years ago, “From a Table Away,” you should get to know her. Aside from that one hit, she has had little mainstream success but has gained significant recognition in the Texas scene, becoming the first woman to have back-to-back #1 singles on the Texas Music Chart in 2015.
Having enjoyed all three of her previous albums and especially loving the last two, concrete and Provoked, this was one of the 2017 releases I was most anticipating. Well, after listening to it, I can say Sunny Sweeney has delivered us another great record.
The album opener, “Pass the Pain,” is a real, honest look at drinking to cope with heartbreak. The narrator knows the consequences but still tells the bartender to do their job and keep the drinks coming. That theme of knowing the consequences permeates the album, making the lighthearted “better Bad Idea” and “Pills” fun moments because the consequences can’t be ignored. “Better Bad Idea” is a complete acknowledgement that various things such as getting drunk and high aren’t the best ideas, but that isn’t stopping the people in the song. “Pills” sees the narrator confronting an old friend about their previous addictions to well, pills, and wondering if that friend is still addicted. She freely admits to thinking about it all the time even after having been clean for years. Sunny Sweeney has a knack for making songs like this fun and honest. That lighthearted honesty makes the title track a highlight of the record. I heard “Trophy” two years ago when Sunny opened for Miranda Lambert, and I’ve been eager to see it on an album ever since. It’s about the ex-wife of Sunny’s husband calling her a trophy wife, to which she responds, “He’s got a trophy now for putting up with you.” This is one you really need to listen to; case in point, it stuck with me for two years.
As I said, Sunny Sweeney is adept at being honest in her writing, and that comes through on serious tracks as well. An understated highlight of the album is “Grow old With Me,” a love song in which she states, “If I had one regret it’s that I didn’t find you sooner” but asserts that “Love don’t give a damn about time” and is content to grow old with her lover. Another highlight of the record is “Bottle by my Bed,” a heartbreaking song about how much Sweeney longs for a baby, and how even though her friends who have children are jealous of her lifestyle, she would give it all up to have a family. This is the kind of honesty that country music should be embracing. This is an artist being vulnerable and sharing a part of herself with listeners through her music. Another vulnerable moment is the album closer, “Unsaid.” Here, Sweeney sings of all the things left unsaid between her and someone who has just died. She wishes she could have apologized and regrets that there isn’t any time left for such things. The stripped-back instrumentation on this song really allows Sunny to bring out the raw emotion of the lyrics. She also conveys that emotion well on the cover of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight,” making it seem like her own.
Two songs that didn’t stand out for me as much are “Nothing Wrong with Texas” and “Why People Change.” The former has some nice fiddle and tells of all the great things about Texas. It’s elevated because it speaks of Sunny leaving before she realized how much she appreciated it, so it’s unique and once again honest, but even though it’s solid,, it’s another one of a thousand solid songs about Texas. I think this one will resonate with other listeners more than it did with me. The latter is another solid song about divorce and where the narrator and her ex are now, but again, it doesn’t stand out as much as some of the other tracks. Still, there’s not a bad song on this record, and none of it feels like filler either.
Once again, this is a great album from Sunny Sweeney. From the more traditional country tracks like “Pass the pain” to the more upbeat, Texas country offerings like “Pills,” production and instrumentation are definite high points of this record. Also, you will not want for fiddle and steel, so that is a bonus. Even more than that, though, the lyrics set this album apart. Trophy is filled with honest, clever songwriting, and it should be noted that Sweeney had a hand in writing eight of these ten tracks, an accomplishment that is refreshing in music today. Fans of traditional country, Texas country, or just honest songwriting, go check out this album and Sunny Sweeney.
