May 26, 2020
May 24, 2020
May 23, 2020
Archives: A Real Track By Track Review of Luke Bryan's Tailgates and Tanlines
ORIGINALLY POSTED MAY 3, 2012
I know this album's been out a while, but after 3 putrid singles, I wanted to go back and give a listen and see how the rest of this album stacks up to the feces Luke Bryan has been pooping out to the radio waves.
1. Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
One of the most awesomely terrible songs released to country radio in the last… no, ever. It doesn't deserve any more words.
0/10
2. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
A song about goodbye sex. "Take off your leaving dress"… is a leaving dress something you can buy at Penney's? I'm just asking. As a country power ballad goes, I guess this isn't horrible, but I'd still go with a paper cut over listening to it again.
5/10
3. Drunk on You
The much maligned "boom-boom" song. So, is it as bad as generally thought? Well, the melody is pretty nice and the opening line is killer. But beyond that, yes, it's that bad - it's an embarrassing pile of rancid, maggot-infested garbage. Now that country singers have found a way to get all their laundry list of country touchstones into love songs, shouldn't pop country eat itself? This kind of song makes a man go "mmm mmm" (with his head shaking side to side and a frown upon his visage).
2/10
4. Too Damn Young
Oh, is this a Garth Brooks cover? No? Damn. It's just yet another song about teenagers doing it in the water. Tanlines mentioned? Check. Heartstring-pulling b.s. to make soccer moms look back wistfully on their senior summers? Check. I guess this sounds okay, but it brings nothing new and says nothing old in a new way.
4/10
5. I Don't Want This Night To End
Just another perfectly proportioned hit vehicle carefully created in a clandestine Nashville laboratory. My 5-year-old daughter likes this song. She also likes Caillou, Barbie mermaid movies and Glee songs, so maybe we shouldn't use her as a standard for good taste (though I love her dearly). "You got your hands up/you're rockin' in my truck"…has this scenario ever played out for any guys out there? How can you put your hands up? I mean, the roof isn't very high. Is she rocking to Aldean or Gilbert? Actually, who gives a damn?
3/10
7. You Don't Know Jack
One of the weakest drinking songs I've heard in some time, and that's saying something because "Red Solo Cup" was on the charts just a month or two ago. It sounds like somebody was trying to be deep here, but the silly title line trivializes any good intentions they had. Also, there's way too much weight put on kindergarten-ish lines like "double shot/80 proof on the rocks." If this dissuades a man from doing his wife wrong and ending up as one of Jack's best buddies, I'm Jim Beam.
2/10
8. Harvest Time
This sounds pretty good. It's a simplistic exploration of farming, but there's nothing too egregious here. It's reminiscent of one of Jason Aldean's better tunes "Amarillo Sky," but that's neither here nor there. Nothing I've heard on this album so far has lived up to any of the potential for interpretation I think Bryan showed earlier in his career, and this is no exception. His reading comes off a big generic. Still, not a bad song at all.
7/10
8. I Know You're Gonna Be There
I'm forgetting this song as I'm listening to it. It's such a fluff piece, it's fading as it plays. Nothing memorable whatsoever. I'm not even interested enough to pay attention, honestly. Probably shouldn't have made the album, and it's a terrible album.
2/10
9. Muckalee Creek Water
Um, okay I guess. There's some imagery here that's pretty nice. It has a fairly decent swamp groove. Still, there are a few negatives. What's with his preoccupation with onomatopoeia? Boom boom on other songs, bump bump on this one. It's childish and very irritating. I have to hear repetitious, annoying stuff like that from my kids all the time; I don't want to hear it in a song. And what's with all the singers claiming they drink moonshine? Right, I'm sure you hit the white lightening all the time Luke. Also, the bridge sucks and takes the air out of this one big time. This song had some promise, but I'd be lying if I said I'd listen to it again.
5/10
10. Tailgate Blues
This is actually kinda cool. If the production weren't so perfect, this could be a great song. As it stands, it's still surprisingly good. Great melody, nice harmonies from Ashton Shepherd, not too many cliches, lonesome atmosphere. I like it.
8.5/10
11. Been There, Done That
The title tells you all you need to know. See review of track 8.
2/10
12. Faded Away
Reminiscing song about trucks, balconies and spring break. Making love as waves roll in. Tans and names in the sand. It wants to be an update of Kenny Chesney's "Anything But Mine" (which is a guilty pleasure of mine), but it falls far short because Chesney's Spring Break song was far stronger on imagery and longing. This will speak to 15-19 year old girls and maybe a few moms with less discerning tastes, but that's about it.
3/10
13. I Knew You That Way
Probably Bryan's best vocal performance on the album. A pretty understated song without too many things that rub me wrong. Still, not particularly noteworthy.
5/10
Album Average:
3.73/10
That rates as an F on any scale. Luke, you used to not suck (too bad). What happened???
May 22, 2020
Country Radio Station Sucked Into The Earth After Playing Two Women in a Row
Around 2:05 a.m., overnight DJ Carl Wellseen broke the long-standing unwritten rule at mainstream country radio of playing songs by two female artists in a row. Wellseen said he felt a slight rumble when he played the first track, Caylee Hammack’s “Small Town Hypocrite.” “I figured it was just thunder, there was a storm in the area so it didn’t even register.” said Wellseen.
After a commercial break for erectile dysfunction pills and an insurance company saying “we’re all in this together during these uncertain times,” Carl played Carrie Underwood’s current hit “Drinking Alone.” That’s when things got weird.
“There was another rumble, but this time the whole building shook and the tower swayed,” said Wellseen. “I thought - earthquake! - we have little one every once in a while, but this felt like the New Madrid had finally woke its a** up. Either that or a truck plowed into the strip club next door again.”
Carl ran outside to see what was going on just in the nick of time. “The f***ing earth opened up, like that 2012 movie or some s***.” related Wellseen. “I wet myself running away.” A large sinkhole opened below the station, pulling the entire facility into the earth, where it caught on fire and exploded.
No one else was in the station when it collapsed. That’s a good thing, because it was also struck by lightening several times as it went down.
“I’ll never play two women in a row again!” laughed Carl. “And I’d advise every other country station to take heed of this omen. It’s crazy.”
The strip club next door was unharmed.
May 21, 2020
A Conversation With Caleb Caudle
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| Photo by Laura Partain |
By Kevin Broughton
Caleb Caudle wanted an earthy, funky sound for his new album. He assembled several Grammy-winning musicians to chase it down in the Cash Cabin, a small place with a big history. “It feels like you’re in the shadow of giants,” Caudle says.
He emerged from the shadows with Better Hurry Up, his eighth studio album. Its 11 songs showcase Caudle’s vivid lyrics and foreboding vocals, as well as the work of an A-list cast of musicians. John Jackson of the Jayhawks produced, and guest vocalists include Courtney Marie Andrews, Elizabeth Cook, Gary Louris, and John Paul White.
A large sound emerged from the little cabin, which Johnny Cash built in 1979 as a private sanctuary near his home outside Nashville. It evolved into a recording studio more than a decade later. Since then the rustic structure has hosted sessions by everyone from Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris to Jamey Johnson and Todd Snider, as well as Cash’s own work on his acclaimed series of American Recordings. Caudle and Jackson used the space to create a dramatic, compelling record.
We caught up with Caudle a few weeks back and talked about recording in such an iconic venue, how the band came together, and some unintentional irony in song titles.
I thought Crushed Coins was one of the great albums of 2018. There’s stark contrast between it and Better Hurry Up. Could you describe your thought process or approach …maybe your goals for a new/different sound as you set out to make this album?
I think the main difference was that this time I wanted to do as much live as I could: sing it live, play it live. Because that’s what I do every night. The approach was so raw that if you don’t like this record, you probably don’t like what I do every night. I came to terms with that and was fine with it, so…yeah. We just did it live. It felt good.
John Jackson of the Jayhawks produced the album, and his bandmate Gary Louris is one of several outstanding artists singing harmony vocals. What’s the connection with Jackson, and was your choosing him to produce based on his penchant for a particular sound?
He came to see me at a show in New York. He came up to the merch table afterwards and introduced himself, saying he had played with the Jayhawks. I had always loved the Jayhawks, so that was really cool. And we got to be friends, sharing music back and forth whether it was mine or whatever each of us was listening to at the time.
At some point he said, “Hey, would you mind sending me some demos, because I know you’re always writing?” So I just started sending him song after song, and we’d talk about each one: what he thought of it, what should be the focus of a particular song. One thing led to another and I was back in New York and at dinner he asked if he could produce the record. It just felt right; I liked his vibe and how he was really in tune with the songwriting. We pitched around some different studios, and he mentioned that he had worked at Cash’s Cabin – I think on a Loretta Lynn album. He suggested that, and I thought it felt perfect.
Y’all made liberal use of keyboards and pedal steel, which gives the whole album an ethereal, spacy feel. Was that something you set out to do ahead of time, or was it more of an organic thing during the arrangement process?
It was pretty spontaneous. Because what we did this time was hire all these people that I really trusted. I wasn’t given a ton of direction. Because you’re not gonna tell, for example, Mickey Raphael [harmonica] what to do; because he’s just gonna do his thing and be himself, and that’s what you’re looking for in the first place. Know what I mean? Because he’s gonna give it back to you better than you could ever ask for it.
Everything was just organic. I just told people to be themselves and do what they thought was right. They were all such high-caliber musicians that it all fell together really nicely.
Who put the band together for recording?
John and I had equal say when it came to the band. I had met Dennis Crouch [bass] – we had done a few demos together a few months before recording. And he just knows everyone in Nashville; he put me in touch with Fred Eltringham [drums] and Russ Pahl, who plays pedal steel. John knew Pat Sansone [keyboards] from Wilco and brought him in. And all the singers who were on the record, I had toured with the previous year. You know how it goes in this business; you meet everybody if you tour long enough.
It just came together naturally, and the record was really an easy one to make. By far the easiest record I’ve ever made.
Speaking of harmony vocals, one could do worse than Elizabeth Cook…
[Laughs] Yeah, she’s the best!
She makes three appearances I believe. Had y’all worked together before, and how likely are future collaborations?
She had taken me out on tour a couple times last year, so we were on stage singing together a lot. So, yeah, it came together really easily. She lives around the corner from us here in Nashville. She was great, of course.
There’s a line in “Feeling Free:” “It’s true I really ever only wanted to be a slave to things that’ll set me free.” Is that an allusion to anything particular?
Probably the road, you know? Touring. I’m really feeling it right now, you know, because of all the shows getting swiped. I’m so used to being on the road. Being on tour is second nature for me. Most of that song, though, is about being outdoors and trying to get away from it all. But I feel like I’m always on the chase; always trying to get to the next situation.
The first cut on the album is called “Better Hurry Up.” The next-to-last song is “Wait a Minute,” with a line in the chorus that says, “We get there when we get there.” Mixed messages? Irony? Tongue in cheek?
Ha! I didn’t even really know I did that until we were mixing the record. I said, “Oh, I wrote one called ‘Wait a Minute’ and one called ‘Better Hurry Up. I wonder if patience had anything to do with that?” It wasn’t really intentional, but it is kind of funny. Our whole routine on tour is a bunch of hurry up and wait. You just have to figure out when to take your shots, I guess.
The official release date for Better Hurry Up was April 3, not long after this virus changed everyone’s life. Obviously, tours are off the table indefinitely; what are some of the things you’re doing to adapt? And is there any reason for optimism going forward, in your view?
Aw, man. There’s always a reason for optimism, you know? If I lost hope, this would all be for nothing. I can’t go there; I don’t want to do that.
I’ve been going on long walks each day that the weather allows. There’s a nice park not far from our house…I’ve been doing some guitar work, learning some old traditional stuff. I’m just trying to learn. And I’ve been writing a bunch, too. Working on some clawhammer banjo here and there. Cooking. Eating a lot. [Laughs]
A lot of artists are streaming shows; have you dipped your toe in that at all?
Yeah, I did one for NPR last week and I did one for Wide Open Country yesterday. I’m trying not to do more than one a week. I just feel like everyone is going live all the time. And it’s how everyone’s getting by, so I totally get it. I just don’t want to take up too much space, so about once a week is all I’ll do.
What led you to record at the Cash Cabin? Is that a bucket-list thing for Nashville artists?
It was amazing. I got to sit in Johnny’s rocking chair while playing his guitar. The guys all gathered around me in a semi-circle with their pens and paper. I’d play them a song and they’d take their notes and we’d go in and run it once. Then we’d hit “record” on the second one and that’s usually the take we did.
Wow. What an experience.
Yeah. I knew we were going to Cash Cabin but had no idea I was going to get to do that. They handed me his guitar on the first day and I was blown away by that. It was a pre-War Martin for one thing; whether it belonged to someone famous or not, it’s an incredible guitar. But when it belonged to such a character as Johnny…and sitting in his rocking chair where he’d carved his initials in the right arm? Yeah, it was pretty special.
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"Everywhere the light touches, Luke Bryan sucks"
May 20, 2020
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