Tag Archives: classic country

Album Review – Zephaniah Ohora – This Highway

Rating: 9/10

I had never heard of Zephaniah Ohora until Megan mentioned him to me by saying that Trigger over at Saving Country Music had given his album a 9.5 out of 10 rating. Then, she dropped the words “classic country album”, and I was sold. I knew I had to at least give this unknown artist a listen and se what I thought.

I don’t know much about Zephaniah Ohora, but when I saw that he is from New York, I was excited to see what his music would sound like. As it turns out, he made some truly authentic country songs that could be timeless in terms of sound.

To start with, this album features some really well-done instrumentation. I like that on some songs, there is a touch of piano. Personally, I feel that the piano is a much under-used instrument in country nowadays. There’s some really well-done fiddle, too. By far, though, my favorite instrument is the steel guitar, which is fantastic all throughout this album. If I had to point to a specific moment where it really works, listen to the track “For a Moment or Two”. It’s a sad song in which a man is trying to lie to himself that he hasn’t lost his partner, and the guitar really sells the emotions of this song in a moment unlike anything I’ve heard so far this year. If I had to pick a favorite track off of this record, I’m pretty sure this would be it. It’s the only waltz time song on here, and a fantastic way to end the album.

The previous ten tracks aren’t bad by any means, either. The album starts off with “Way Down in my Soul”, which is a love song about how the woman he loves helped him out of a dark time in his life. There is some great fiddle play here, and its a very good opening track. “I Do Believe I’ve Had Enough” tells of a man who’s tired of the city and wants to move back to the country. I don’t think I’ve heard a song with this theme for quite some time, and I really appreciate it, especially since things are even more hectic since the time when songs like “Big City” came out. “Take Your Love Out of Town” is intriguing. The actual music of the song is country, but the tempo reminds me of something the Eagles might have done in the 70s. It’s not derivative by any means, but it just reminded me of the tempo on songs like “Peaceful Easy Feeling”. The actual lyrics involve a man telling his lover to go and be with someone else, but he also says that if the woman misses him, she can come back home. He did her wrong, and he wants her to go, but only if she has no feelings for him. I believe this is a very realistic portrayal of emotions one would feel in this situation, instead of just saying that he wants one thing or the other. Human emotions are far more complex than that, and I appreciate Zephaniah Ohora being willing to capture that fact.

The title track tells about a highway that just won’t end. Given his occupation, I found that this song could be taken literally and metaphorically, where the highway is life. Either way, I like the song, although it isn’t one that completely stands out to me. One that does stand out for me is “Songs My Mama Sang”. It starts off talking about how a boy and his mother would walk their farm fields and she’d sing to him. The boy had his whole life ahead of them. Then, as a young man, he got a job and got lost in the rush of living, but all by himself, he sang the songs his mother used to sing to him. The song is pretty sad, but I like that it isn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. “High Class City Girl from the Country” is a standout song for me, because it tells of a woman who likes fashion and keeping conversation light, and she’s all about the city life. However, she’s really from the country, and is trying to leave that all behind for the sake of being considered a fine and high class woman. This is true to life nowadays, I’d say, as a lot of people do exactly what the woman in the song did.

Now, we come to a really unique song. “I Can’t Let Go (Even Though I Set You Free” is about murder. Basically, the man in the lyrics tells the woman he loves that she can leave him, but when she tries he shoots her. He can’t deal with the fact that she would no longer be his. It was painful for him to do it, but he just couldn’t let her leave him. In terms of subject matter, this track is definitely different from all the others. You’d expect a song with this theme to be slow, but it’s more mid-tempo than anything. “She’s Leaving in the Morning” is all about a man being left by his woman, who now loves someone else. This song isn’t particularly memorable, but it’s not bad either. “He Can Have Tomorrow (I’ll Take Yesterday” involves a man who is telling the woman he is with that she can go and be with the man that she loves. Although she tried to make him jealous, he isn’t, and he only wants what they used to have. He doesn’t want her future, he wants her past. “Something Stupid” is the only cover on this album. It features Dori Freeman, who I really like. The song itself is all about someone trying to tell the person they’re with that they love them, but said person is very cynical and would only think that it’s a line. I haven’t heard the original, but I liked the lyrics. What I don’t quite care for is how Dori Freeman and Zephaniah Ohora sing the lyrics. Not their harmonies, but the notes they used, the melody itself. It just felt off to me. Like I said previously, “For A Moment or Two” caps the album off beautifully. It felt like Zephaniah Ohora really pulled out all the stops for this song in terms of lyrics and instrumentation. It really shows what he and his band are capable of, and it’s the track I keep coming back to.

Overall, I quite like this album. It truly sounds like it could have come out many years ago, but its subject matter is still quite applicable today. While Zephaniah Ohora doesn’t have a voice that particularly stands out, he is a good vocalist who is good at capturing many different emotions. I have to agree with Triggers review where he talks about how he’s glad that Zephaniah Ohora didn’t attempt to put on a Southern accent or make Southern references. It really gives this album a unique quality, and separates it from everything else out there. The artist knows who and what he is, and he’s not trying to be anything different. I can only think of three downsides to this record. There are a lot of mid-tempo songs, so it could use more speed,. Not all the songs were memorable, as I’ve stated above. Finally, I did find it odd sometimes where the lyrics were placed within the instrumentation. It felt a bit off to me, since the lyrics occasionally came a second or two after I was expecting them. Still, I think if classic country is your kind of music, you need to check this out. You’ll be hard pressed to find anything with this kind of sound or appeal, at least in terms of the albums that have been released so far this year.

Buy the Album on Amazon

Random Thoughts of the Week: Country Music Should Move Forward, Not Backwards

Last Friday (August 28th), Maddie & Tae’s debut album became the first mainstream album to receive a ten from me in the short history of this blog. It was characterized throughout by great country instrumentation–fiddles, steel guitars, mandolins, and banjos being used for good. There were a few lyrical weak points, but overall, the songwriting was great too, displaying a maturity that Kelsea Ballerini and RaeLynn lack, while still relating to the same demographic. In short, Maddie & Tae did something no one has managed to do in years; they brought real, traditional country music, albeit slightly pop-influenced at times, to the generation that believes “country” = hip-hop beats, bad rapping, and a token banjo. The impact this album and these ladies could have on the mainstream should be apparent to all of us, and if we truly want country music to survive, this is a victory we should be celebrating.

But apparently this is still not good enough for some people.

I have seen a number of comments on various reviews of this album saying that this is not country, that this is immature, and/or simply dismissing it out of hand because it is pop country. These people can’t even acknowledge that this is progress for country music because they immediately focus on the electronic beats, which were such a minimal part of this album that I didn’t even mention them in my review. First of all, I’d definitely say this is country-pop, not pop country, but if you don’t like pop country, fine. If you listen to this album and can’t deal with the occasional electronic beat–even with the fiddles, steel guitars, mandolins, and banjos always front and center–fine. But everyone reading this knows the fans I am addressing–these are the fans that want country music to return to its “golden age” and are so close-minded that they cannot even accept progress when it is staring them in the face. I actually addressed a commenter on SCM who listened to twenty-six seconds of one song and judged Maddie & Tae for being “bleach blondes.” Comments, and fans, like this, are hurting the genre as bad as, if not worse than, Sam Hunt fans who refuse to listen to Merle Haggard or Jason Isbell for more than twenty-six seconds. Close-minded classic country fans, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but country music is not going to return to its “golden age,” and Hank Williams is not going to be reborn, nor should we wish for this. Being stuck in the past like this does not help the genre–it is not progress to move country backwards. Rather, country music should move forward, while still respecting the roots of the genre. That’s right, I’m saying country should “evolve”–and no, that doesn’t equal Thomas Rhett’s “Vacation,” The Band Perry’s “Live Forever,” or Luke Bryan’s “Strip it Down,” but it does equal Maddie & Tae’s entire album.

Many of us remember the infamous remarks that Blake Shelton made in 2013, calling classic/traditional country fans “old farts and jackasses” among other things. Granted, he made this comment to defend the false “evolution” of country music, but there is some truth to his point that was overshadowed back then by the remarks themselves, as well as by his motive. I didn’t link this article because I don’t want to focus on the ridiculous/incorrect part of his remarks; however, part of his point is indeed valid. He said that young people don’t want to listen to their “grandpa’s music” and that is generally true. I am a twenty-three-year-old country fan interested in keeping the genre that I love alive, and while I respect the talent of the country legends who came before my generation, I generally prefer to listen to good country music of my generation. I’m sure you can understand this, older country fans, since you prefer to listen to the legends of your generation. However, as I said, I do respect the talent and vision of the legends that established the genre and made country what it is today; if I didn’t, I wouldn’t care what country “evolved” into. And respect is all I am asking of you–you don’t have to like Maddie & Tae or similar artists, but if you really want country music to survive, understand that it’s people like Maddie & Tae who have a chance of making that happen. Respect them as artists who can bring real country music to the generation that sees “country” as Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini, and understand that this is what it will take to change the state of mainstream country music. And don’t say their music isn’t country–just as a banjo doesn’t automatically make music country, the presence of an electronic beat doesn’t immediately disqualify music from being country.

Older country music fans, instead of dismissing Maddie & Tae or another artist like them because of looks or style, at least give them a listen. If they’re not your cup of tea, fine. But maybe your children or grandchildren could relate to them. Instead of being close-minded and wishing for the days of George Jones, try introducing your children and grandchildren to country music through people like Maddie & Tae. This will do far more to “save country music” than ranting on a blog. Please don’t be one of the “old farts and jackasses” that Blake Shelton was referring to. Don’t be someone that makes true country fans like myself, who want to see the genre move forward and survive beyond our generation, look like close-minded, uninformed people who want everything to sound like Hank Williams. As long as there are comments and fans out there like these, the artists and labels will use them to their advantage to support their brand of “evolution” and ultimately to kill country music. Close-minded classic country fans, if you truly love country music, please do your part to keep it alive.

Tomato of the Week: Brandy Clark

Many people are somewhat familiar with, or have at least heard of, Kacey Musgraves. Brandy Clark has had a hand in writing many of Kacey’s songs and is a talented singer in her own right. See her full article on Female Friday!

Random Country Suggestion: Keith Whitley–“I’m No Stranger to the Rain”

A #1 hit for Keith back in 1989 and one of my all-time favorite country songs. See, there will never be another Keith Whitley, and why should we want one?

Non-Country Suggestion: Skillet–“Salvation”

As I say anytime I post Christian music here, if you don’t like Christian music, ignore this. If you do, this is the best song from their latest album.