WE say that this feature appears semi-regularly, whenever enough songs are available to produce one, and this first one has been a bit long in coming this year. That’s really a good thing, as it means that most of what we’ve heard so far in 2018 has been good and deserving of a full review, and even some of this has only made it here out of a lack of inspiration on our part rather than a real lack of quality in the albums. For anyone who is new to the site or the feature, we place good songs here from mediocre albums, songs from albums we did not review out of deference to artists or time constraints, and songs from albums we just didn’t really have much to say about but still considered the album or artist worth spotlighting in some way. Most of these songs fall into the last category.

Josh Grider: “Less and Less”

Josh Grider is the exception to the above, as he falls into the mediocre category. This album was, in many places, simply bland and boring and without flavor or color. However, I have seen a host of varying opinions about it, and a lot of people seem to really enjoy it, so it seems ideal to place here and let you all draw your own conclusions. This one is a pretty decent breakup song with a melody that is catchy and a hook that’s smarter and more interesting than what you’ll find on much of this album.

Josh Grider: “Pictures Do”

As mentioned, one of the biggest drawbacks to Good People was the blandness and lack of color of it all, so it’s nice to see Grider really sounding heartfelt and emotional on this track about the value of pictures and memories.

Bonnie Montgomery: “No More”

Bonnie Montgomery and her album, Forever, inspired an idea for another post about which I have been in the process of piecing together my thoughts. This is an album that’s pleasant enough, floating by without making much of a mark, but not really offending you either. The sound on this is stellar, and for people that just want something to carry the “outlaw” flavor and enjoy lots of fiddle and steel, there really is a lot to enjoy here. It’s underwhelming in the writing, but it’s the vocals that bring this album resoundingly down. It’s for that reason that I choose a track like “No More” to highlight, because although there are better selections lyrically, this is the only one that works in spite of her lack of energy, or maybe the only one where she pays attention enough to her vocal power to make this one stand out and remain memorable.

Dusty Rust: “Arizona”

This is a case of featuring Dusty Rust and his album, Stolen Horse, in a better light here than in a full review. It’s a western album done similarly in style to Marty Stuart’s latest, and another song, “No One to Blame,” was also featured on January’s playlist. I could have picked several of these songs, and this would get the best review if I featured one of these, but the drawback is that it’s short. People hung up on ratings wouldn’t check out an album that deserves it because on a nine-track project, you can’t afford to only really enjoy six. This album gets a 6 if I review it, but it’s a 6 filled with promise and potential rather than disappointment. If you’re into stuff with a western theme and forward-thinking approach, check this guy out.

Ronnie Eaton: “Another War”

Ronnie Eaton’s concept album about a soldier returning home from war, known as The Hand That Mocked Them and the Heart That Fed, is something I can honestly say I have listened to many times and have absolutely nothing worthwhile to say about it. I respect the hell out of it more than I enjoy it, and I guess that’s why the proper words have never come for me. That said, it’s probably the one I’d most recommend to you all because I think it’s being underappreciated, and I can see the appeal for many. It also had a song featured on our January playlist, so I’ll put another one here.

John Oates: “Arkansas”

I debated whether to list this one at all, seeing as it’s a song featured on February’s playlist. But for people who don’t do the playlist thing or may otherwise be new to this, this is a surprisingly great song from yes, that guy from Hall & Oates. I’ll be the first to say I found the rest of his album completely unlistenable vocally, although the style was quite cool and bluesy, but this title track is a great song.

J.D. Wilkes: “Walk Between the Raindrops

What can I say to introduce this? J.D. Wilkes is a strange guy, and Fire Dream is a strange album. I don’t even know who I’m recommending it to because I don’t know if any of you would enjoy something this bizarre. It’s almost theatrical in nature, as if Wilkes took elements of really old forms of country and then infused them with something modern and theatrical and weird. I can’t say I necessarily enjoyed this, but there is no doubt that it was forward-thinking in its approach and very interesting instrumentally. And the qualifier for this little feature is memorable, which it certainly was. Who knows who it may resonate with, but here you go.

Brandon Jenkins: “Other Side of the Wall”

And now we come to some of the hardest stuff I’ve ever had to write.
Many of you have followed the updates on Brandon Jenkins and his heart surgery and subsequent complications. I won’t lie and say that I was a huge Jenkins fan; rather, I was largely unfamiliar with much of his music and only lukewarm on the new album, save for a couple excellent songs which I’m about to feature here. But he was too young to leave us and has made a lasting mark on the world of Texas and Red Dirt music.
The new album, Tail Lights in a Boomtown, was released in the midst of his health issues and just days before his surgery, and I held off commenting during this time, simply following the updates and grieving with the rest of the Red Dirt community when he passed away last Friday (Mar. 2nd.) The record has a completely different meaning when you listen now, as if Brandon were experiencing premonitions of what was to come. It is sometimes painful to listen to. So, rather than give a review to his final album, I want to highlight the two gems I found and maybe give other people who also weren’t as familiar with him a gateway into the music of the one known as the Red Dirt Legend.
This first is about the woman on the other side of the wall from his apartment, as he understands the private hell she’s going through even though they’ve never met.

Brandon Jenkins: “Fade to Black”

And in the tradition of saving the best song for last here, this is both the best song here of Brandon Jenkins’ album and the best one on this feature. And this one goes even deeper now because it’s certainly one that carries the undertones and foreshadowing of what would happen to Jenkins. RIP, Red Dirt legend.