Faron Young is a new acquaintance of mine. I had never heard of him before a fellow Swedish country music fan of mine recommended me to check out his music, so, trusting as I am of my pals, I immediately picked his Best of up the last time I visited Folk Å Rock (still the best record store in southern Sweden when it comes to country music).
Part of me is very grateful to my pal for recommended me this artist, but part of me like what ever. It's good stuff, sure, but it's not supergood.
To me, it sounds like Faron Young is the result of a mix between Jim Reeves (whom I've been meaning to review for some time now) and the Bakersfield sound. Young's got that smooth voice the gentleman also had and the guitar sound, at least so at times, what Buck Owens had. I think Young has a better voice than Reeves, though.
Young's voice and his sound is not the only thing I like about him, though. His lyrics might not win the Nobel Prize for litterature, but they're clever and I for one like typical country music lyrics and Young knows how not to dissapoint. He's got it all, heartaches, love, honky-tonks, drinks, depression, what you'd expect from Dwight Yoakam, only Young did it 10-20 years before Dwight.
Best tune on this album is the beautiful ballad Four in the morning.
Fans of generic outlaw country will not like this album and though Young is somewhat classic "cheesy" country music, I suspect the fans of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers will find his lyrics a bit too outlaw to suit their tastes.
I would still recommend all country fans to listen to Faron Young. He's an important part of country music history and sort of builds a bridge between Jim Reeves and Dwight Yoakam.
As I said, a good record, though not supergood.
Faron Young's Best of gets 63,7% in rate of satisfaction.
Saturday 19 November 2011
Friday 18 November 2011
Merle Haggard, "Working in Tennessee"
This is Merle's latest album and those of you who've read my blog before knows I'm a fan of his.
What you get on this is a journey back in time till the late 60's and early 70's, the original, pre-Heartworn Highways-era, outlaw country scene. Musically, as well as lyrically, Merle Haggard delivers a record which is totally in style with what you'd expect from him.
This means that, for some, the record will probably be a disapointment. Haggard doesn't deliver any modern stuff. Neither the pop-country faithfuls nor the country purists will like this, it's simply not new enough, not groundbreaking enough.
To me, the music is ok, but nothing more. It's classic Bakersfield stuff merged with Johnny Cash, the sound which made Merle famous in the start. I miss a bit of his guitar handling, though. I miss that raw Bakersfield guitar.
The big thing is the lyrics, though. Merle is still one of the best lyricists in country ever and writes on matter what matter to the little guy. Work, drugs, drinks, love, crime, politics. It's all there. Sure, he's sung about it before, but he still finds new ways to express himself.
If you find no other reason for buying this record, then buy it for the duet with Willie Nelson. Merle and Willie made a fine job at Townes van Zandt's Pancho & Lefty. This time, they take on Merle's classic Working man's blues, together with Ben Haggard and they sure make a fine work at it.
It's impossible to pick the faves, cos this record is all about quality, cept for the last tune, Jackson, which I think Merle and Theresa Haggard butcher. If I must pick one fave though, it'd be Too much boogie woogie, a timely and totally valid attack on today's country scene.
Next year, mr Haggard will be 75 years old and he's still making quality music. You gotta love him!
I did write that Eilen Jewell's release earlier this year was the best album of the year. Merle's is neither better nor worse, so this album also gets 72% in rate of satisfaction.
What you get on this is a journey back in time till the late 60's and early 70's, the original, pre-Heartworn Highways-era, outlaw country scene. Musically, as well as lyrically, Merle Haggard delivers a record which is totally in style with what you'd expect from him.
This means that, for some, the record will probably be a disapointment. Haggard doesn't deliver any modern stuff. Neither the pop-country faithfuls nor the country purists will like this, it's simply not new enough, not groundbreaking enough.
To me, the music is ok, but nothing more. It's classic Bakersfield stuff merged with Johnny Cash, the sound which made Merle famous in the start. I miss a bit of his guitar handling, though. I miss that raw Bakersfield guitar.
The big thing is the lyrics, though. Merle is still one of the best lyricists in country ever and writes on matter what matter to the little guy. Work, drugs, drinks, love, crime, politics. It's all there. Sure, he's sung about it before, but he still finds new ways to express himself.
If you find no other reason for buying this record, then buy it for the duet with Willie Nelson. Merle and Willie made a fine job at Townes van Zandt's Pancho & Lefty. This time, they take on Merle's classic Working man's blues, together with Ben Haggard and they sure make a fine work at it.
It's impossible to pick the faves, cos this record is all about quality, cept for the last tune, Jackson, which I think Merle and Theresa Haggard butcher. If I must pick one fave though, it'd be Too much boogie woogie, a timely and totally valid attack on today's country scene.
Next year, mr Haggard will be 75 years old and he's still making quality music. You gotta love him!
I did write that Eilen Jewell's release earlier this year was the best album of the year. Merle's is neither better nor worse, so this album also gets 72% in rate of satisfaction.
Saturday 5 November 2011
Jill Johnson, "Flirting with disaster"
It has become cool to like country, but you're only cool if you like Johnny Cash and Mike Ness. You must under no circumstances like pop country acts like Jill Johnson.
Guess what? I'm uncool!
I bought this record cos I wanted to review a Swedish country act in a blog called "A Swede on American culture". I thought it was the natural thing to do, though I suspected this record would be shite, but it isn't, I'm very plesantly surprised.
What does it sound like, then? Well, it sounds like Jill Johnson is the amazing three-legged woman, one leg being Dolly Parton, the second leg Lucinda Williams and the third Kings of Leon.
Jill Johnson stands as steadily on all three legs and is as good when it comes to ballads about heartaches, as when it comes to rockier tunes about, er, well, heartache. If there is one big thing to criticise her for, it might be the lyrics. She comes across sounding like country music heartaches 101. It's what you expect from a poppy country album like this and it means I have to give her a somewhat lower grade, cos she can't blame it on being Swedish, she has a splendid command of the English language, sounding really American, and should be able to write with a wee bit more fantasy.
As I said, it's a poppy country album and somewhat stereotypical, so I wouldn't recommend it to die hard outlaw country fans, but people who like poppy country music will definitely like this. If you like Lucinda Williams or Dolly Parton, you'll like this. Even if you don't get it anyway, it's good music!
A surprisingly good record like this gets 69,3% in level of satisfaction.
Guess what? I'm uncool!
I bought this record cos I wanted to review a Swedish country act in a blog called "A Swede on American culture". I thought it was the natural thing to do, though I suspected this record would be shite, but it isn't, I'm very plesantly surprised.
What does it sound like, then? Well, it sounds like Jill Johnson is the amazing three-legged woman, one leg being Dolly Parton, the second leg Lucinda Williams and the third Kings of Leon.
Jill Johnson stands as steadily on all three legs and is as good when it comes to ballads about heartaches, as when it comes to rockier tunes about, er, well, heartache. If there is one big thing to criticise her for, it might be the lyrics. She comes across sounding like country music heartaches 101. It's what you expect from a poppy country album like this and it means I have to give her a somewhat lower grade, cos she can't blame it on being Swedish, she has a splendid command of the English language, sounding really American, and should be able to write with a wee bit more fantasy.
As I said, it's a poppy country album and somewhat stereotypical, so I wouldn't recommend it to die hard outlaw country fans, but people who like poppy country music will definitely like this. If you like Lucinda Williams or Dolly Parton, you'll like this. Even if you don't get it anyway, it's good music!
A surprisingly good record like this gets 69,3% in level of satisfaction.
Friday 4 November 2011
Cajun Peppar, "S/T"
I don't know where to start. This demo-cdr is an act of musical brilliance, it puts together all things I love, American music and Skåne (the region of Sweden where I live) pride.
I bought this record at the band's concert at the Eslöv Blues Festival last weekend and for those of you who missed them, Cajun Peppar plays Cajun-influenced music spiced up with blues, country, a bit of Steve Riley-ish pop-Cajun and Skånsk "dansband", dansband being what some people call Scandinavian country, but which is a genre with it's roots in domestic dancing music, as well as in 50's rock and roll and country.
The band is, in other words, rooted in Cajun, but being influenced by many genres. There is, however, accordion in each tune, but no fiddle.
They are also influenced by many languages, you get a wee bit of Creol French, loads of English and, of course, some Skånska. They mix languages in some songs and only one is in all Skånska, Kvinna eller Man?, a perhaps politically incorrect tune about transgendered people. It's funny, though.
What I like with this band is the mix of Skånsk and Cajun culture. I've said it before, us from Skåne, the deep south of Sweden, suffer the same prejuidices as people from the south of the USA and to translate "Cajun land" to "Skåneland" and "Cajun guy" to "Skånepåg" in the beautiful song Colinda!, that's just brilliant!
I would recommend this record to all fans of Cajun and Skånsk music, I think it appeals as much to both audiences. Wouldn't it be cool if more bands started mixing Skånsk and Cajun music? We already have Skånsk blues, hip hop and reggae, which the northerners listen to as well. They might not understand much, but us Skåningar have rythm in our blood.
I will see this band live again and again if I can, cos they're not just good on record, I know for a fact that they're brilliant live as well. Let's pray they get a record deal as well!
A brilliant and innovative demo with loads of potential like this naturally gets 100% in rate of satisfaction!
I bought this record at the band's concert at the Eslöv Blues Festival last weekend and for those of you who missed them, Cajun Peppar plays Cajun-influenced music spiced up with blues, country, a bit of Steve Riley-ish pop-Cajun and Skånsk "dansband", dansband being what some people call Scandinavian country, but which is a genre with it's roots in domestic dancing music, as well as in 50's rock and roll and country.
The band is, in other words, rooted in Cajun, but being influenced by many genres. There is, however, accordion in each tune, but no fiddle.
They are also influenced by many languages, you get a wee bit of Creol French, loads of English and, of course, some Skånska. They mix languages in some songs and only one is in all Skånska, Kvinna eller Man?, a perhaps politically incorrect tune about transgendered people. It's funny, though.
What I like with this band is the mix of Skånsk and Cajun culture. I've said it before, us from Skåne, the deep south of Sweden, suffer the same prejuidices as people from the south of the USA and to translate "Cajun land" to "Skåneland" and "Cajun guy" to "Skånepåg" in the beautiful song Colinda!, that's just brilliant!
I would recommend this record to all fans of Cajun and Skånsk music, I think it appeals as much to both audiences. Wouldn't it be cool if more bands started mixing Skånsk and Cajun music? We already have Skånsk blues, hip hop and reggae, which the northerners listen to as well. They might not understand much, but us Skåningar have rythm in our blood.
I will see this band live again and again if I can, cos they're not just good on record, I know for a fact that they're brilliant live as well. Let's pray they get a record deal as well!
A brilliant and innovative demo with loads of potential like this naturally gets 100% in rate of satisfaction!
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