In this 26th edition, we’ll start our trip with the new album of Jessica Leigh Alexander. This singer songwriter whose songs have been sung by Patty Lovess, or Trisha Yearwood, has just released her new album, an 8-track work called Decatur County Red.
Right after that, we will pay attention to another album, this time from Jesse Daniel, who just released his last album a few days ago, called “Rollin’ On”, full of honky tonk the way it should be done. We had a conversation with him from his apartment in Austin, TX, to hear his opinion on this great Long Play.
And to put a stop to our review of new albums, we’ll take a look at the last album released by The Tender Things, from Austin, TX, a great taste of American country music tethered to the roots of Appalachia and the rust of Texas honky-tonks. The album is called “How You make a fool”.
And to finish the show, we’ll pay respects to some of the reknown country artists who unfortunately have passed away because of Covid-19.
So get your imagination ready to get into your car, roll down those windows, and if you’re one of those heroes who are working to sustain our beautiful country amid this pandemic, blessed your heart, fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride!
Many may not know Jessi Alexander, or may only recognize her from the hits she has written for other artists such as Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton or Miley Cyrus, to name a few, apart from, of course, the CMA and ACM winnin “ I Drive Your Truck”, cut by Lee Brice in 2013. But the thing is that she is also a recording artist in her own right. And thank goodness she is, ‘cause her voice is great. We have just listened to the song that opens and gives name to the album, “Decatur County Red”, the third in her career, recorded at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studio. The name Decatur County was inspired by a cabin in the county’s Tennessee River that she inherited from her grandmother. This song is part of the story of the account of a redneck upbringing with Rebel flags as curtains. Jessi dedicates this album to the folks who love sad songs, beer joints, pedal steel guitars, and country music.”
Let’s see to what extension she dedicates that to us fans of the beautiful country sound, by listening to two more songs. The poignant waltz “Damn Country Music”, recalling a pivotal point in her life, her moving to Nashville to follow her dream, a ballad peppered with gorgeous steel and lyrics I have no doubt many hopefuls relocating to music city will relate to, co-penned by her, and then “My Problem is You”, the story of a harrowing heartbreak.
Great writing highlights can definitely be found along Decatur County Red. Hearing “Damn Country Music” it sends you straight to country music heaven. The arrangements are mostly what country music asks for. Unfortunately, what leaves you a little wanting is this album comes in with the fact that there are only eight songs. Sometimes that’s ample, but in this case, it feels like Jessi Alexander could have put a little bit more effort in getting this record to the next level, because, frankly, it’s not like Jessi doesn’t have enough material to pull from.
As I commented before, this album recalls the period of her life which goes back to her lowly upbringing in both Memphis and Georgia, her parents divorcing when she was three, is also represented in the album’s opening and title track as commented before. They had a rebel flag for a curtain, a crate for a tv stand,... which leads us to thing from the very beninning what a powerful voice Jessi possesses, particularly in its soaring chorus. It’s a fantastic write which puts you right there with her, learning the survival skills needed growing up in rural America while also learning to hide her rebel child feelings .
We’ll say goodbye to this gorgeous album with two more songs. The first one we’ll listen to is “Mama Drank”, whose video was released a few weeks ago, song co-written with her husband, Jon Randall. The song sees Jessi reflecting on the tough times her mother had to endure and which she was probably only aware of retrospectively, with her own experience as a mother of three most probably helping to open her eyes too. And the second song, called “Country Music made me do it”, reminds me of the good ole days of a retired country singer called Shania Twain, I can hear a bit of her voice in this track, featuring Randy Houser, whose voice compliments Jessi’s perfectly…..
Like happened with tracks like “I love this bar”, or “Friends in Low Places”, I can see this one being a favourite when played live, with the crowd going wild, beers and whiskey in their hands and singing along. So “Mama Drank” and “Country Music made me do it”.
It’s country. It’s cool. It’s well-written, and exquisitely produced and performed by the top notch musicians involved. We’ve just listened to Jesse Daniel, opening his new album “Rollin’ On”, with this wonderful Tar Snakes, with a great Bakersfield Sound in the modern context, and does so while maintaining a robust adherence to the tenets of traditional country.
This California-born songwriter and singer Jesse Daniel, is about to become your next favorite artist, and Rollin’ On your next favorite album. It’s only a few precious times each year that we get to enjoy a landmark release that really defines the best in country music, and goes on to cement an artist as an important part of country moving forward. The release of Rollin’ On is one of those moments. Released just some 10 days ago, it’s pure country music at its finest.
The story of Jesse Daniel is like a country song itself. A slacker kid from smalltown California misspends his youth banging on drums in punk bands, and blowing his cash on tattoos and skag, trying poorly to stay on the right side of the law. Then the sounds of country music reminded him of a more simple time and place, saving his life. Country music became Jesse Daniel’s compass, inspired him to get sober, and drew him in so deeply, it not only saved his soul, but it called him to service for some time. Now Jesse is out to save a few souls of his own, and be an inspiration both to those looking to get clean and turn their lives around, and to those who worship at the altar of American twang. Jesse Daniel is not some excellent singer with a legacy voice. It’s the heart and conviction he brings to every song that makes him special. Let’s listen to a couple more songs and digest his excelence with “If you Ain’t happy now (You never will be) and “St. Claire’s Retreat.”
Daniel's time in the Golden State wasn't always so inspirational. A punk-rock kid who cut his teeth in the dive bars and local clubs that dot the San Lorenzo Valley, he developed a taste not only for the road, but also for the substances that sometimes come with a life spent onstage. As times got harder, so did the vices. What followed was a period of addiction, arrests, jail time, and rehabilitation centers. However, Rollin' On, which comes two years after the release of Daniel's self-titled debut album, also celebrates his newly found health and contentment. Jesse Daniel’s self-titled album from 2018 was a good starting point and humble debut. But it was much more of the underground-inspired style of country music, with illicit drug use and other rough-and-tumble topics, and scratchy recordings.
But Rollin’ On is the full package. Co-produced by the award-winning Tommy Detamore, he made sure that all stops were taken out and no expense was spared, and you can hear it in the finished product. Without talking about the songs themselves or anything else, Rollin’ On just sounds so damn good. Let’s listen to a couple more songs. The first one, "Champion," with its Mariachi influences and Tex-Mex twang, tells the story of an old drug-dealing acquaintance of Daniel's called “Champion”, with a rhythm of rodeo music that could come out of Red Steagall or Chris LeDoux, and the second one, paying homage to Buck Owens and the Bakersfield Sound, we’ll listen to an beautiful instrumental called “Chickadee”, in the tradition of such unforgettable tunes as “Buckaroo” from Buck Owens himself.
So, “Champion”, and “Chickadee”.
Wow, amazing performance we’ve just witnessed here. Raised in a rural mountain town near Santa Cruz, California, and now living in Austin, Texas, Daniel knows something about mileage, too. He's traveled the country, sharpening his own music while sharing shows with Charley Crockett, Shooter Jennings, and others. Above all else, he's gained a clearer of where he's been and where's he heading.
In fact, he wanted to convey the meaning that this piece of work was more about moving forward, even physically driving, moving forward. It’s symbolic of that, and his ability to keep himself sober naturally fell into place with the theme of this record. Rollin' On traces that arc, from the bottomed-out lows of Daniel's darker days to the ever-escalating heights of his present. This is his best work to date… and like the album title suggests, he's nowhere close to being finished with the journey.
In an interview, Jesse Daniel confesed that he had been writing songs and short stories since he was a young kid in elementary school, that he would always write wild stories as he had a crazy imagination as a kid, and then he got into punk rock when he was an early teen. And country songwriting and writing in this style started as a cathartic thing because I always loved country music, but it naturally progressed. He also has an ace in the hole in his writing and singing partner Jodi Lyford, whose harmonies and help with writing put the sound of Jesse Daniel over the top.
uLet’s get another sip of this wonderful healing masterpiece with “Mayo and the Mustard”, a great honky tonk about a diner on the road, and the second one, my favorite in the album, “Sam”, where Jesse Daniel tells the story of a friend of him who ended up escaping a complicated life and Jesse wishes him farewell.
Jesse Daniel is not some excellent singer with a legacy voice. It’s the heart and conviction he brings to every song that makes him special. His style of writing is more inspired from the classic forms of country reworked into his own expressions. Jesse Daniel is here to entertain you, and get you twirling your partner on the dance floor. This is a time to celebrate that he has been sober for three years and counting. That’s why you shouldn’t mistake Rollin' On for an album that glorifies Jesse Daniel's outlaw-worthy past. In fact, jail time isn't street cred.
Instead, Rollin' On finds its frontman reveling in his newfound health and happiness, reflecting on the roadblocks of his past to show just how far he's come. Playing a crucial role in that forward momentum is his musical and romantic partner Jodi Lyford, who not only sings harmonies throughout, as I commented before, but also co-wrote much of the album's material.
Since doing so, his music has been his one outlet to pour everything into. Because of that, Jodi and Jesse were doing everything at an obsessive speed. They started writing a lot of songs and began listening to albums by Doug Sahm and Jim Lauderdale seeking inspiration. We’ll say goodbye to this unforgettable piece of work listening to the two songs which close the album. The first one, called “Only Money, Honey”, where Daniel contrasts the bright boot-scootin' bounce, pedal steel guitar, and fiddle riffs with a frank account of a working musician's financial struggles, and then a lovely waltz called “son of the San Lorenzo”, where he recounts his hometown hell-raising.
The prolific, two-time GRAMMY Award-winning American music icon Jim Lauderdale, North Carolina-born songwriter, paid tribute to the Tar Heel State with the March 6th release of his latest bluegrass album, When Carolina Comes Home Again, the 33rd in his career. The follow-up to 2019’s From Another World, the LP features Lauderdale collaborating with other North Carolinians, including Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range, Town Mountain, and Songs From the Road Band. We have just listened to “It just takes one to wander”, always with a fantastic production.
Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC, the 13-track album features instrumental accompaniment from various members of NC-based acts, including Balsam Range, Cane Mill Road, Hank Pattie & the Current, John Stickley,, Songs From The Road Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Town Mountain; as well as Matt Pruett (banjo); Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw (fiddle); Aaron Ramsey (mandolin); Nick Dauphinais and Presley Barker on guitars.
After a heavy 2019 touring schedule, including two trips to Australia. Once the Covid-19 crisis comes to an end, Lauderdale will continue his From Another World tour with a string of U.S. dates across the West Coast in May, before embarking on a tour in support of When Carolina Comes Home Again. We need to understand that between these two pieces of work there was a lapse of time of less than 10 months. One never knows what to expect at a Jim Lauderdale gig, with recent shows featuring surprise duets. We’ll say goodbye to this great bluegrass album listening to two more songs, “Cackalacky”, and “Spin a Yarn”. About the first, song, there’s an old nickname for North Carolina, with a lot of variations: Cackalacky. Cackalack. North Cack. Some folks love the terms. And a few seem to hate them. But where in the world did the word "Cackalacky" come from? Unfortunately, it's hard to know for sure. The research is a bit thin. Some have claimed Cackalacky is a derivative of a Cherokee word. Others suggest it's an Americanization of the German word for cockroach – "Kakerlake." Some also say that they came across Cackalack in the 1960s during the Vietnam War. As far as these people can tell, it was a pejorative term used by military members stationed in North Carolina. Whatever the case, Jim just takes advantage of having a North Carolina origin to tell everybody about his proudness. The second song, “Spin a Yarn”. So “Cackalacky”, and “Spin a Yarn”.
From Austin, TX comes a unique take on American country music. The group is called The Tender Things, and this new album titled How You Make a Fool evokes strong memories of the Flying Burrito Brothers and similar outfits that melded country with rock sensibilities. The Tender Things come primarily from the sweat and vision of frontman and songwriter Jesse Ebaugh. Bred out of Northern Kentucky with the influences of bluegrass music hovering very near, Ebaugh is perhaps best known for saddling up with the Heartless Bastards as a bass player for the better part of a decade.
The hardcore country fans out there will find plenty of steel guitar and twangy leads to sink their teeth into, but How You Make a Fool is adventurous and offbeat compared to the average country or even country rock affair. This record is less classic and more retro. One of the things that made so many of those early 60’s and 70’s country rock records so good is the players often had more passion for country than many country artists did. We have just listened to the song that opens the album, “Sister Elizabeth”, a fantastic 70s sound that reminds me of the Flying Burrito Brothers. Melding those 60’s and 70’s influences where the seams are hidden, and allowing the lyrics and instrument selection to blend smoothly is how Jesse Ebaugh and The Tender Things bring the Bakersfield side of the Laurel Canyon sound alive in a way that is rarely achieved.
We’ll say goodbye to this eclectic Americana album listening to two more songs, “The secrets We could tell”, and “You’ll be gone”, with more Bakersfield sound.
Some days ago, we received the devastating piece of news that Joe Diffie had passed away because of Covid-19. And some days before, also Kenny Rogers, another country music legend, left too soon because of the same illness that’s causing death all around the globe.
We’ve just listened to “Third Rock from the Sun”, which peaked number 6 in the Hot country singles and tracks in 1994. Joe Diffie released many albums in the last 20 years, always loyal to steel guitar and fiddle. From him we will listen to one of his songs with reached number one in the country music lists in 1995: “Pick Up Man”.
Kenny Rogers debuted in the late 50s in Houston, Texas, and he enjoyed some success until his fame exploded with the release of his 1978 album “The Gambler”, and the song was a cross-over hit that won him a Grammy Award in 1980 and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. What an honor! From him, to honor his legacy, we will listen to the songs “The Gambler”, and “Ruby, don’t take your love to town”, from 1967, reaching number 1 and 9 respectively. We feel sorry for their losses, and I wanted to extend the condolences to all of you who may have lost a close or distant relative in these weeks. My heart goes out to you.
