3 Up 3 Down: May '13

3 Up

Jake Owen - Anywhere With You
Really, Trailer? My selection of this song is more an example of how bad the charts are right now than an indicator of how good this song is. It's a catchy bastard for sure, but it's nothing new. It echoes umpteen songs that came before it about the place a love interest resides/visits being where the singer wishes to be. Owen's solid vocals and the wailing guitar hook make the song. I should hate it, but I can't. "Anywhere With You" would probably have fit in fine in the 90's (with the guitars dialed down a touch), and that's probably the reason for its guilty pleasure status with me. As long as Jake stays away from crap like "8 Second Ride," he's one of the few bright... well, um... not dim, lights on the country charts, if only because of his selection of hook-laden, semi-country tunes and his impassioned delivery.
B-


Easton Corbin - All Over the Road
Corbin's reluctance to record songs that glorify pasture parties or feature hip-hop breakdowns seems to be holding the talented singer back quite a bit. Hard not to root for somebody like that. This is a breezy, nearly weightless bit of country-lite goodness that (required Strait comparison coming) wouldn't have sounded out of place on an earlier George Strait album. It's hummable, foot tappable and so polite that it has a hard time elbowing its way into the forefront of the average listener's mind through the crowd of blazing guitar solos and moonshine references all too prevalent around it on the charts. It's also a gem.
A-


Kacey Musgraves - Blowin' Smoke
A no-doubter. Kacey's latest single that won't go any higher than #10 on the charts (mark it down) is smart and sneaky while sounding relatable and lightly cynical. It's clever and real, working both as a snapshot of a day at the diner and a prod at people who are always making plans and proclamations but never following through. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at a level that makes Jane-soccermom or Jeff-collegeguy not feel depressed while listening to it so we'll just have to be happy it's charting at all.
A

3 Down

Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift (ft Keith Urban) - Highway Don't Care
This tries hard to sound deep. Modern radio listeners mistake intent for effect, so expect lots of soulful, eyes half-closed singing along in the carpool lane. Unfortunately, "Highway Don't Care" is neither insightful nor tuneful, so this is a dud on all counts. Taylor's refrain is as grating as you might expect, the chorus is annoying and repetitive, and Keith Urban's guitar playing is nearly unnoticeable on this throwaway.
D


Florida-Georgia Line - Get Your Shine On
I've been over songs or phrases about "getting your anything on" since the late 90's so this is a non-starter for me. I'll give FGL one thing: they've crafted a signature sound that is unmistakable even in a sea of sound-alikes. It's not a signature sound I approve of, but it's certainly caught on beyond reasonable expectations. Also, these guys don't even pretend to go any deeper than the above ground pool half-filled with Pabst empties in the back yard of their trailer. So there's that. No pretense. Does it sound like I'm praising these guys?
Well...
D


Blake Shelton - Boys 'Round Here
The most dangerous song released to country radio in a decade or more, "Boys 'Round Here" is a genre-shifter disguised as mindless entertainment. It has a far more universal theme than Aldean's similarly hick-hopped "1994" and also comes from a pop culture icon with less baggage. On the surface, it's just another laundry-list country song whose verses happen to be rapped (not spoken, as BS bs'es). Beyond that, it's a top ten smash that will make dollar signs appear in record executives' eyes and slowly rewire the synapses of the easily-led masses to expect more urban sounding "country." When stuff like this becomes the norm, SCM's long-predicted monoculture will be at hand. Dress accordingly.
F

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Album Review: Jason Boland & The Stragglers - Dark and Dirty Mile

by Kelcy Salisbury

I'm not certain when I first heard the term applied, but the latest release from Jason Boland & The Stragglers certainly embodies the "Thinking Side of Country." Boland has consistently been one of the strongest lyricists in any realm of music over the past decade plus; on Dark And Dirty Mile his words strike much deeper than ever before, an impressive feat coming immediately after the two most critically acclaimed (and best selling) studio albums (Comal County Blue & Rancho Alto) of the bands 15 year run. So what is the difference?

The answer probably lies in one word: maturity. There is a self assurance, a knowledge of who they are & what they do that positively permeates the record. It's a hard-won assurance, honed by thousands upon thousands of shows all over North America (along with several swings through Europe, one of which the band just completed early this month), battles with personal demons both public & private, along with all the introspection that comes with a group of artists who've now been playing music together for their entire adult lives.


The tone is set at the beginning as the albums leadoff track (and first single) is the title song (a first for JB&S), a thoughtful look at the journey of life. All the classic touchstones of Boland's songwriting are here in spades. There are looks into life, love, faith (in a Higher Power & in oneself), and the loss of all the above. There are no throwaway tracks here, and while its not a concept album any more than any of the previous efforts were, it's readily apparent much care was taken with song selection and sequence.

There are cultural touchstones aplenty here, but they aren't the stereotypical beer-trucks-river ramblings usually associated with so-called Red Dirt or Texas Country. You'll grab a history book (or at least Wikepedia) if you're paying attention. From the striking miners shot down in Ludlow, to the Trail Of Tears & Oklahoma Land Rush in the Randy Crouch penned They Took It Away, this album takes a hard look at the past, both personal & public - but that past always informs the present.

Boland has long been one of the best and most accessible songwriters in the game. He's got a knack for taking his own pain, joy, losses & gains and turning them into words that are near universally true. What I found most fascinating about this album is the way the lead track essentially lays out an outline for the themes of the album, and the songs that follow dig deeper into the various themes touched on at the beginning. I'm not sure it's an intentional detail, and it's certainly not a new idea (arguably JB&S 2005 effort, The Bourbon Legend, follows the same pattern with its lead track, The Last Country Song) but it couldn't be executed more flawlessly.

The music is so flawless largely because it is clearly not overproduced. This is the exact sound you'll experience at a live show. The band (Roger Ray, Grant Tracy, Brad Rice & Nick Worley) are at the absolute peak of their powers. Clearly they are a cohesive unit that has reached the same stage of confident self-assurance demonstrated in the song writing. There's no part that shoves its way to the front of the listeners attention. "Tasteful" is the best word that comes to mind for the playing and arrangements.

Shooter Jennings served as producer for the first time on a Boland album and he has clearly chosen to simply try to capture the sound that the band has honed through the years and miles. It would be a temptation for a producer working with such talented individuals to attempt to leave their own signature on the record, but here Shooter leaves his mark by doing what may well be the most difficult thing for a producer to do, he simply steps back and lets the band tell the tale.

Care was obviously taken to ensure that the entire album is a piece of art recalling the days before consumption of music was primarily digital. The cover art is hauntingly excellent, relying heavily upon the theme of the title track.

Yes it's a dangerous, rough journey we're all on through this life. Take this album along with you though, and the journey will be a little richer for it.
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You can purchase Dark & Dirty Mile here or here (and other places like iTunes).