Well, it has been a long time, and it is good to be back. I think it appropriate that my first review in several months should be of possibly my most personally anticipated single of 2016. It is no secret to anyone who reads this how I feel about Miranda Lambert, and besides this, her next album has been especially anticipated by many following her divorce from Blake Shelton and his subsequent, obnoxiously public relationship with Gwen Stefani. None of this matters at all and should mostly be left to gossip sites, but it must be pointed out here because it will most likely have a direct effect on Lambert’s musical direction. With that in mind, we have the lead single from what will be Miranda’s sixth album, “Vice.”
“Vice” opens with a needle on vinyl and then just Miranda singing. The first thing I notice is how vulnerable she sounds. She sings about a woman who goes through different vices, including drinking and waking up in places she doesn’t know how she came to. She knows she keeps making mistakes, but she can’t seem to help it. There is an honesty in this song that country music lost years ago, and the fact it’s coming on a lead single is unbelievable. “Standing at the sink looking in the mirror, I don’t know where I am or how I got here. The only thing that I know how to find is another vice.” I can’t think of the last time I heard such raw honesty in a lead single. She wasn’t looking for radio play when she co-wrote this. As for the production, it’s not something we’ve yet heard from Miranda Lambert; it’s neither the strong country of Revolution nor the pop rock sound dominating Platinum. It’s something in between, like the raw country rock sound of Eric Church’s Mr. Misunderstood or parts of Lindi Ortega’s Faded Gloryville. It works on this song, and it is definitely a better direction than Platinum, although I still prefer the sound of Revolution. Having said that, I am interested to hear the upcoming album. Unlike the general overproduction on Platinum, “Vice” maintains something raw and real. This is a good different direction for Miranda Lambert. If “Vice” is any indication, the album could be a truly honest one and a standout in the mainstream this year.
Well, credit to Derek of Country Perspective
because until he reviewed this album, I had never heard of The Black Lillies. However, this is their fourth studio album, and they are certainly a group worth checking out. Blending country, rock, and blues, they have been a staple in Americana since 2009 and have formed a unique sound that many people will enjoy.
The album’s title track and opener, “Hard to Please,” is a rocking track about a woman who is, well, hard to please. The harmonies between frontman Cruz Contreras and Trisha Gene Brady work well in this song, and the rock guitars add a nice touch. “That’s the Way it Goes Down” is another rocking song–it’s a song about forgetting our mistakes and looking forward. Once again, I am struck by the harmonies, a fact which I will stop repeating, as it is consistent throughout the album. The guitar solo in this song really adds to it. “Mercy” is a beautiful song about a couple who admit they simply need each other. “It ain’t easy for a grown man to confide that I need your love, flesh and blood, that’s why I’m calling, calling on you”–what a line. This song blends country, blues, and gospel into a unique sound that adds even more to the track. It’s definitely a standout on the album.
Trisha Gene Brady sings lead on “The First Time,” a heartbreak song about a man who continues to let her down. Trisha should take the lead on more songs, in my opinion–her bluesy voice is just incredible. The album turns decidedly more country at this point. “Bound to Roam” is an excellently written song about two lovers, Willie and Sarah; Willie is a rambler, and Sarah wants him to stop roaming and stay with her. The song tells the story, through their dialogue, of their last conversations and moments together. Everything about this song is excellent, from the vocals to the songwriting to the production; if you pick one song by this group to listen to, make it this one. “Dancin'” is another one of my favorites–here, a couple is seeking to rekindle their love by going dancing together. This song features a nice country beat and some great steel guitar. Speaking of steel guitar, you will find plenty of it on “Desire.” This is the third excellent track in a row–here, Cruz Contreras takes the lead and sings about a lost love, whom he clearly still keeps in his heart. Contreras sings, “Desire, oh desire, you can look away, but it still remains. You can’t hide that burning flame of desire.”
“Forty Days” takes the album back to a more upbeat, country rock feel. The band sings about forty days of touring on the road; it’s a fun song that is just pleasant to listen to. The piano in this song is excellent. There are better songs on Hard to Please, but this is one which I think will be enjoyed universally. “Broken Shore” was written by Contreras for his grandfather, who fought in Iwo Jima–it’s yet another excellently written song, and I can’t really do it justice with words. Contreras and Brady repeat the line, “Which way is heaven and which way is hell, it’s so hard to tell”–what a lyric. The instrumentation in this song is phenomenal, and if you had a shortage of mandolin or fiddle, you should listen to this track. Hard to Please closes with “Fade,” another well-written song in which the narrator is asking his love to promise him that she will not “fade away.” The piano works really well in this song, and it features more of those remarkable harmonies between Contreras and Brady.
Overall, I was really impressed by this album. Having never heard of The Black Lillies, I can say that this album has made me a fan. This album blends country, rock, blues, and even gospel at times, and the band excels at all of these styles. Aside from the unique sound, many of the songs have truly excellent lyrics. It is not often that an album or group is equally impressive in sound and songwriting quality, but The Black Lillies have achieved this with Hard to Please. This is definitely an album worth many listens.
When it comes to Eric Church, one just has to accept that he’s always going to be more rock than country. This doesn’t make him some sort of sellout or trend-chaser; that’s always been part of his style, and the fact that he hasn’t veered from it or tried to be a different artist than himself should be commended. If you’re looking for fiddle and steel, it’s as simple as this: don’t seek it in Eric Church’s music. However, within the confines of his rock-country status, Eric Church can bring some truly excellent music. He has shown us two sides: the more rootsy, stripped-down side found in albums like Chief and Sinners Like Me, and the sweeping, arena rock style found on The Outsiders. It’s the former that suits Eric Church, and when he dropped a surprise album in the mail to his fan club last week, we all began hoping he would get back to this. I’m glad to say that his rootsy rock-country style is indeed what we hear on Mr. Misunderstood, and the result is a very good Eric Church release.
The album’s title track and opener starts with just Church and an acoustic guitar, which is immediately better than anything on The Outsiders and shows promise for the rest of the record. It’s an ode to all those who don’t fit in but will one day lead the band and be popular because of their music. “Your buddies get their rocks off on top 40 radio, but you love your daddy’s vinyl and old time rock ‘n’ roll” feels like a personal line for Eric Church, and this song feels quite honest. I wish it had stayed stripped-down throughout the entire song, but that’s not a critical comment so much as a personal preference. “Mistress Named Music” is one of my favorites; this is a song about the allure music can have on people. “I’m still chasing this song with a guitar full of freedom and a head full of lines”–what an excellent lyric. The production builds throughout this song, really capturing the song in a way that was held back slightly on “Mr. Misunderstood.” “Chattanooga Lucy” is a song people will either love or hate–it’s a bluesy rock song about, well, a woman nicknamed “Chattanooga Lucy”–but it’s a song where I pay much more attention to everything happening musically. Incidentally, I should point out that only seven musicians are given credit for contributing to this album, including Eric Church and producer Jay Joyce–say what you will about Church, but this is just insane in 2015 for a mainstream artist. It results in a very cohesive, sometimes live-sounding album, even if it isn’t country-sounding.
“Mixed Drinks About Feelings” features Susan Tedeschi, who is a ridiculously talented artist in her own right–just go listen to the Tedeschi Trucks Band–and whose name makes me think this will be an excellent track. It’s not an excellent one, but it is a pretty damn good one–the two sing this song well together, and the line “my figured out has never been more confused” cannot be overlooked. Now, I have listened to “Knives of New Orleans” several times, and I still have no words to write that would explain it–it’s just a remarkable display of songwriting that you should listen to. It tells a great story, and it’s a case where I feel the rock production really works. It doesn’t matter if you wanted to hear country–if you’re a fan of damn good music, give this a listen.
The next two songs suffer from slight production issues; I could have done without the lead-ins of electronic drums on these tracks. “Round Here Buzz” could be a single; it’s a nice small-town anthem that actually feels somewhat authentic, as opposed to every checklist country song we’ve ever been exposed to. Having said that, although it’s not a bad song, it doesn’t really do anything for the album. “Kill a Word” is a very interesting, well-written take on bullying and hate. “If I could kill a word” is the premise–Church sings of beating “regret,” shooting “goodbye,” and choking “Lonely,” among other things. “Holdin’ my Own” is a simple little song about just that: fighting adversity and standing one’s ground. It’s a song that might be overshadowed by others on this album, but after some listens, this one has come out of nowhere to be one of my personal favorites. It’s a case of “less is more,” and it’s just pleasant to listen to and will connect with many. “Record Year” is a little too pop for my taste in places, but having said that, it could make a good single and is certainly not a straight pop song–I’d probably call it pop rock. It’s a heartbreak song in which the narrator is trying to get over a woman by playing various “records”–as an avid listener of “everything from Jones to Janis” too, like the narrator, I can identify with this song quite a lot and just wish it sounded a little less pop. However, there’s no doubt that some of the best songwriting on the entire album is found on this song. “Three Year Old” closes the album nicely–it’s a song about the lessons we can learn from children, from the ridiculous to the profound.
Overall, this is without a doubt the best release we have yet been granted from Eric Church. There is no use belaboring the point that there is no fiddle and steel, and that this is at its core a rock album. This has always been Eric Church’s place in music, and his rock-country sound is at its best on Mr. Misunderstood. There are some truly excellent moments of songwriting here, most notably on “Knives of New Orleans” and “Record Year,” and it’s important to note that Church either wrote or co-wrote every single track. The fact that there are only seven musicians on this entire album is nothing short of mind-blowing. As I said earlier, you know what you’re getting with Eric Church–so either don’t listen, and miss some truly great music, or go into it with that in mind when you do listen. And if you do listen, you’ll find a lot to love about this album.
For those unfamiliar with the Texas/Red Dirt scene, Jason Boland & The Stragglers is one of the first bands you should know. The Oklahoma-based band have been a presence in Red Dirt since 2001 and have gained a reputation within the scene for their traditional country brand of Red Dirt. They are back with Squelch, a great country-sounding album full of political and social commentary. Though this type of album might not be for everyone, with its highly political nature, Squelch is an album many will find themselves enjoying.
For those unfamiliar with the term “Squelch,” it refers to the knob on a CB radio used to mute the static. This static seems to be a metaphor for the information surplus we receive daily, and “Break 19,” the album’s opener, continues with CB lingo to protest the amount of information we are fed daily. “Once you read between the lines, you miss the days when you were blind”–what an excellent line. “The First to Know” is more ambiguous, seeming to call out social media for its controlling nature. “If my voice sounds scared and frozen, it’s because I’m afraid and cold, and when I am, you’ll always be the first to know” is a disturbing truth about the hold social media has on many. The fiddle in this song is excellent. Next is the straight rock “I Guess it’s All Right to be an Asshole.” The premise here is “Genius is always bound to be misunderstood, I guess it’s all right to be an asshole if you’re good.” It’s as simple and as true as this.
“Holy Relic Sale” is next. Currently at #24 on the Texas Music Chart, this song is the first break from social commentary. Inspired by Jason Boland’s wife’s lucky blue socks, the song tells of a day they found themselves enjoying, despite the fact that she left her lucky socks at home. “The sun will also shine on the nonbeliever” reminds us that we will all have our good and bad days in life. “Heartland Bypass” is a musically excellent song featuring acoustic guitar, steel, and fiddle–here, Jason is asking his woman to get away with him. It’s my personal favorite of the album and one that you should just listen to, and then listen to again. “Lose Early” is a country rock critique of the wealthy–the great Red Dirt mix of fiddles and rock guitars fits this song perfectly. It’s a sound like no other, even if you don’t like political commentary. “Do You Love Me Any Less” is a traditional country song in which the narrator is asking a woman if she’ll love him less while he is on the road. “Do you love me any less when I’m gone?”–what a line. It should be noted that Cody Angel, the newest Straggler, has brought some remarkable steel guitar to this album, and it shines on this song in particular.
The fun, upbeat “Fat and Merry” is another attack on the wealthy, this one much more obvious and all the more entertaining. This song is rife with excellent, sarcastic lines, but this one sticks out: “Here in the land of plenty, there are plenty that could land a little more.” “Christmas in Huntsville” is the darkest point of the album. Here, the narrator is on Death row for a crime he did not commit. He reflects on God, his family, the “man I didn’t kill,” and his last meal, which is “turkey and dressing for this Christmas in Huntsville.” After this utterly depressing song, I am thankful for “Bienville,” a song about a traveling man who meets a woman with a like-minded spirit in the Bienville hotel, and the two fall in love. There are a lot of great lines on Squelch, but the best are found here: “All of my life I prayed I would find another lost soul with the travel in mind. The years I spent wishing left me ill-prepared for the Bienville hotel, and the time that we shared.” The instrumentation is also excellent, with more of that great balance of acoustic guitar, steel and prominent fiddle. The album closes with the blazing, upbeat “Fuck, Fight, and Rodeo,” an attack on American politics and leaders, whom Jason Boland simply labels “their kind.” It’s an ironically cheerful song, as the premise is basically that nothing will ever be fixed with “their kind” in charge. It’s definitely an appropriate way to close such an album.
Squelch is an album which I would describe as surprisingly enjoyable. It’s certainly charged with political and social commentary, and many won’t like these lyrics, but they are delivered to us in musically excellent songs that any country fan will enjoy. As a person who does enjoy the lyrics, I find Squelch to be a rather excellent album, but I recognize some won’t be able to appreciate it as much. Still, it’s a great introduction to the world of Texas country/Red Dirt and an album worth checking out.
Since the moment Don Henley announced that he was making a country album, much of the country music community has been wondering if, and even assuming that, this album would be another country album by a rocker seeking some cash and attention–Steven Tyler anyone? I never wondered about this; Don Henley has no reason to make a country album other than genuinely wanting to make a country album. And now that Cass County has arrived, it’s proven that this isn’t just another rocker looking to exploit the country format, this is a true country album by an artist with obvious love and respect for the genre’s roots and tradition. In short, Don Henley lived up to my expectations with this record, and if you had reservations, I’m here to tell you you needn’t have worried.
Let me say I am reviewing the deluxe version, which is important because some of the songs are not in the same order on the main version. I will state which songs are not on Cass County, but it’s important to know that the ones that are might not be in the same place on the album.
The album opens with “Bramble Rose,” and right away, you can tell this is traditional country, with steel guitar making a grand appearance on the opening beat. This is about a woman whose love has “grown as sharp as a bramble rose.” It’s a nice opener–also, it features Mick Jagger and Miranda Lambert, making perhaps the most unlikely musical threesome I have ever heard. I come away from it more impressed by Miranda Lambert’s vocals than I have ever been–and this from one of the biggest Miranda Lambert fans you’ll ever meet–and wondering what Mick Jagger would sound like in country. Don Henley has several duets on this album, and this is something common to all; all the singers sound their best. It’s like Don brings out something in them that they don’t try to bring out themselves, like he believes in them more than they do. Speaking of duets, the album’s impressive lineup continues with “The Cost of Living,” a duet with none other than Merle Haggard–yes, the guy that just critiqued all modern country, so there’s an endorsement for this album in his name alone. The song itself is about living with the hand you are dealt and not letting life’s troubles get you down; “It’s the cost of living, and everyone pays.” I now want a Don Henley and Merle Haggard duets album, as this sounded better vocally than anything on the already great Django and Jimmie.
“No, Thank You,” is a fun little country rock song saying “no, thank you” to, well, pretty much everything that is “too good to be true” because he’s “been there, done that.” “Waiting Tables” displays excellent country storytelling, as we learn about the life of a 23-year-old single mom who works as a waitress and hopes for better days. “Take a Picture of This” tells another great story, this time of a married couple who captured their life in pictures, but now they are getting divorced after many years together. “Too Far Gone,” only featured on the deluxe version, is a traditional country song rife with piano and steel. It’s about a man who knows his woman loves someone else, but he is “too far gone” to accept this. Don Henley really captures the emotion in this song and makes it one of the better tracks on a great album.
“That Old Flame,” the first song released from the album, has more of a country rock feel and features the always remarkable Martina McBride. The two sing about reconnecting with an old flame and wondering if they miss each other or simply their youth. “There is danger in the embers, you have only yourself to blame, if you get burned and try to rekindle that old flame”–this is just good songwriting, and this song is simply catchy. “The Brand New Tenessee Waltz,” only on this version, goes back to traditional country and features some of the best instrumentation on the album, including a nice fiddle appearance. “Words Can Break Your Heart” is next, a song about just that, a relationship being torn apart by harsh words. I especially love the line, “It only takes a breath or two to tear your world apart.” The cover of “When I Stop Dreaming,” featuring Dolly Parton, is one of the best songs of the whole bunch and one that I will post here. Dolly Parton sounds better than she has in years, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t hit that high note in a long while. If anyone had any doubts about this album being real country, this song should shatter them in about 2.6 seconds.
“Praying For Rain” is next, and here is where Don Henley’s vocals shine most. I have talked about the other singers, but it’s important to know that Henley himself put a lot of effort into this, and I hear it most in this song–this is where Don Henley takes Jason Aldean’s “Amarillo Sky” and shows Aldean how to sing it correctly. The next two tracks are only found on this version. The first is a simple little song called “Too Much Pride,” about the dangers of this, and the next is a nice cover of “She Sang Hymns out of Tune,” which is probably the only song I could do without, and that’s only because I am not a fan of the song; Henley certainly does it well, though. “Train in the Distance” sees the narrator looking back on his youth and reflecting on his dreams. It’s one I can’t really explain, and you need to hear it to really appreciate it. “A Younger Man” is one of my favorites; here, the narrator is singing to a woman who is in love with him, but he tells her “You’re looking for a younger man, not me.” Apparently, she’s an “angel from the future,” while he is “an old devil from the past.” This is really a standout on an already great album. The album concludes with “Where I Am Now,” a great rocking track after all the seriousness of the last two songs. It’s an excellent way to close this album–and both versions close with it, so obviously Don Henley agrees.
okay, Cass County is a very good album, and all of you who thought Don Henley came to country for the wrong reasons should be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend this album for traditional and contemporary fans alike–the majority is more traditional, but there are nice country rock tracks too. In fact, I’ll post one of each. Cass County is definitely worth checking out!
