DVD: Kinky Friedman, "Live from Austin, tx"

/ ARTIST: Kinky Friedman / TITLE: "Live from Austin, tx" / GENRÉ: Musical film / FORMAT: DVD /

A very good friend of mine, like me, a former skinhead and unlike me, a man of great musical skill used to play with a Swedish country band and he usually knows what I like and sometimes comes with a few pointers, like "you might like this".

As he has been talking of Kinky Friedman for ages, I was glad when I found this DVD at the brilliant FolkÅRock record store in Malmö.

Before I had watched this DVD, I had actually never heard his music, but I did know that Kinky is jewish, a loudmouth, highly intelligent and of some musical skill. In other words, a darling of the alt country left wing environment.

Now, though it is true I don't like everything my buddy advices me to listen to, I don't share his love for Faron Young, as for an example, he is guilty of making me check out Townes van Zandt, for which I'm ever grateful. Kinky, I'm sad to say, is another addition to the list of performers I find overrated. Yes, I said it, it's time to start roasting sacred cows.

The music is ok, but nothing special. This show was recorded in the 70's and the appearance of the band is not the only thing flowerchild-hippie-longhair-wanker thing about them, parts of the music is more Woodstock than Muskogee. True, there's a few decent tunes on this disc, mainly the more rock & roll/R&B sounding stuff, but I can't say I particularly like the music.

The thing which really disturbs me with Kinky, though, is not his music, but his lyrics. Some of the tunes try to be funny, but aren't exactly above the level of oi! music's most overrated act, Splodge and some of it tries to be political, but only ends up as a load of crap.

To be honest, I don't see how his lyrics are "alternative" in any way. Now, there are obvious sides to American culture that aren't very nice, but I'm a Swede and it's not up to me to slander the USA, but Kinky is American and if an American wants to criticize his country, it should be his right to do so, but also his duty to present serious criticism. On this, Kinky fails, big time.

Kinky manages to put his childish humor lyrics together with "criticism" of American culture in a way that it neither becomes funny nor serious criticism. He most of all comes across as a middle class intellectual who wants a better society, but ends up blaming the working class instead of the bosses and big government. I don't buy that bullcrap. If you're not working class, got musical and intelligence gifts and want a better world, you ought to make yourself a servant of the people and sing like Woody Guthrie, instead of making fun of the very people that should drive the change.

Nope, Friedman, you don't fool me.

Some of the tunes are musically alright, so I'm not gonna slaughter this DVD totally, but it's actually that bad in my ears that it only gets 34,7% in rate of satisfaction.

Johnny Cash, "Hymns by..."

/ ARTIST: Johnny Cash / TITLE: "Hymns by..." / GENRÉ: Country gospel / LABEL: Legacy / FORMAT: CD /

For a long while, I've been in doubt whether I should review my absolute favorite performers, performers like Johnny Cash and Townes van Zandt. These people were that talented that my words simply wouldn't do them justice.

However, when it comes to Johnny Cash, the man together with Nathan Abshire, that made me discover American people's music, I think there's a lot of revisionism going on. Punks and skinheads, the scene I have belonged to and whose music I still listen to, have claimed him. Even out and out anarchists listen to the late master.

It's easy to see why. When you belong to a subculture as hated as skinheads are, then the outcast anthems of Johnny Cash are well appreciated. I am a labor man myself which I have stated when I reviewed Dock Boggs and although I'm not politically active, nor agitate, I appreciate the songs about social justice that only Johnny Cash could pen.

But, like Dock Boggs, Cash had another side than the social rebel's, he was a Christian. So am I.

Of course, everyone who has seen the Walk the line movie, will know how he started out as a singer of gospel songs and tried to cut a record deal as a gospel singer for Sun records. Which failed.

I have always thought that Cash brought a bit of gospel feeling into his rockabilly and country stuff. On this record, which gathers hymns performed by him between 1958 and 59, one can almost say that he brings a country/rockabilly attitude to his gospel music.

Must've come as a shocker for those who had thought of him only as a rebel. Today, Christianity means being a rebel in a world that has fallen into the sinful depths of fornication and consumption.

True, there are performers of gospel music who are better than Cash, I am thinking primarily of The Louvin Brothers, but Cash brings his Cash-ness to it all.

Of course, Cash's music is timeless and so is the message on this record. Christianity remains, however unpopular it is to say so, the way, life and the truth. The lyrics are thoughtful and not written by someone who wants to cash (no pun intended) in on the gospel scene. They reflect the living faith that mr Cash had on earth, which lead him to his social convictions. He still has this faith today, I'm certain, as he watches over all his fans on earth from Heaven.

I am sure that this little CD is one of the most relevant things Cash ever recorded, some of the tunes being his own, some being written by other and a few timeless classic and this part of his legacy should not be forgotten.

Cash shouldn't be made a rebel that refused to conform to society's norms alone. He had this side to him, true, but it was fed by a stronger conviction than provocation for provocation's sake. It was fed by the conviction that us Christians must make moral choices, love our neighbors and not fall into the trap of conventional sins.

This is one of the records in my collection that I value the most. It's a real gem of a plastic disc.

A perfect record like this get 100% in rate of satisfaction!

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, "Old yellow moon"

/ ARTIST: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell / TITLE: "Old yellow moon" / GENRÉ: Country music / LABEL: Nonesuch Records / FORMAT: CD /

To be honest, I haven't heard too much by Rodney Crowell before, so I can't really say anything about his input on this disc as compared to previous works.

Emmylou, on the other hand, has aged beautifully and I don't just mean her looks, she's still got a great voice and is anything but just a pretty singer. If she was, she wouldn't keep on doing her thing for as long as she has lasted and I consider her as great as Loretta Lynn. She impresses me as much when she does love songs as when she covers Townes van Zandt and though there are no Townes covers on this disc, she does touch a few serious subjects too and there's a strain of melancholy on quite a few numbers on this disc.

Merle Haggard was absolutely right in paying tribute to her on the record he released the other year. Emmylou means class.

That being said, this record, which is full of various flavors of country, bluesy stuff, waltzy stuff and ballads, isn't exactly groundbreaking. I know, I am an old fart and a jackass in disguise as a middle aged European geezer and I like the old stuff better than the new stuff on the country circuit. Most of the stuff being produced nowadays is utter shite. But then again, every age has had it's rebels and it's old farts and jackasses whom have considered the new stuff to be anything but country.

I like it, but to be objective, this isn't as good as the hype says. It sounds like country should sound according to me and country is supposed not to be the music for geeks like me, but for dancing on a Saturday night tavern over a few bottles of Budweisser and I suppose that much of the music on this record is danceable, it's just that it sounds like stuff you've heard a zillion times before. I wish some cool kid could make a record sounding groundbreaking, yet drenched in tradition.

Lyrically, you get a cocktail of love songs, as well as songs about drinks and drugs, even coffee and one tune about a bull rider.

I like this record, but I'm sure that Emmylou could pull something better off, therefore, not a perfect rate.

I wouldn't say it's a must-buy, rather, listen to the record first at Spotify and if you like it, support the artists by purchasing it!

I'll give this disc 61,8% in rate of satisfaction.

DVD: Merle Haggard, "Live from Austin, tx"

/ ARTIST: Merle Haggard / TITLE: "Live from Austin, Tx" / GENRÉ: Musical film / FORMAT: DVD /

It was a bit of a let-down that three of my favorite Hag songs weren't included on this one, namely Branded man, Okie from Muskogee and The fightin' side of me. But Merle is forgiven, cos included is a number of other great tunes, like Workin' man blues.

This DVD captures one of the greatest country music performers of all time (who continues to make great albums to this day) and it captures what is so special about the Hag. He is, as I see it, the missing link between the 1950's-60's Bakersfield sound and the 1960's-70's outlaw sound. He incorporates part of both sounds, the brutal guitars from Bakersfield, as well as the bluesiness of the outlaw scene and lyrically, he is just as credible when he sings about love, as when he sings about a prisoner waiting to be electrocuted.

Another great quality of Haggard's is the fact that he can play his music with a few guitars, bass and drums, as well as with a bigger band, as on this DVD, with strings, piano and saxophone. If the 60's demanded that you played down to the bare essentials and the late 70's got back to bigger bands (this recording is from 1978), Merle does both things just as good. He plays his Workin' man blues just as credibly when he is backed up by his band, as he does when he does it with an acoustic guitar.

But Merle also surprise us by playing the fiddle on a few tracks and does it surprisingly well. Again, we're in for a surprise, as Haggard plays a few western swing numbers, as well as old time feeling country tunes and proper blues.

But even though the musicianship alone makes the Hag one of the greatest country performers of all time, his lyrics is what makes him stand out as unique. No one has captured the daily struggle of the white (not that it matters), protestant (again, not that it matters), blue collar working man (which matters) nor the sentiments of jailbirds like the Hag has. Commies can rant all they want about proletarian culture, but the fact is that none has come as close to describing working class reality like mr Haggard.

New West Recordings should have a lot of credit for publishing these DVDs and this particular DVD is one of the better and is recommended not just to fans of old country, but also to fans of Taylor Swift, if they want to discover what country once was, as well as to fans of music in general, as the Hag is strong enough to appeal to all music lovers.

This is a near perfect DVD. Had my other three fave tunes been included, it would've reached highest rating, but now I give it 95,6% in rate of satisfaction.

Buy this DVD!!!

Film: "Country Strong"

/ TITLE: "Country Strong" / GENRÉ: Drama / FORMAT: DVD /

OK, let's have it! This is a romantic drama, the kind of flick you want to see with your girlfriend and not the type of movie I'd usually give a fair try. However, this film comes with a twist in the form of a great country music soundtrack which is perfect if you wish to make your girlfriend discover your own passion for country music. And although a romantic drama, it should be stated that some of the drama in this movie could've been written by the late Townes van Zandt himself.

Anyway, you know a flick is going to be great if it opens with a Merle Haggard cover. OK, Silver wings is not one of my fave tunes by the Hag, but far from his worst and to be honest, I think Merle Haggard is one of those artists that keep on making good tunes.

As I said, it starts with a Hag cover, as played by a young singer-songwriter, "Beau" (played by Garrett Hedlund) in a small honky-tonk. The next setting of the film, we get to see him driving to the rehab, where he works and in which a super-star of country music, Kelly Canter (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) is receiving care. They share their love of music and fall in love with each other too, though there is no sex scenes this far into the movie. He plays a few of his songs to her and she likes the music. She likes it that much that she, after having been written out too early from rehab in order to go on a tour, she convinces her hubby, Jimmy (played surprisingly well by Tim McGraw) that Beau should be the opening act.

At starters, Beau doesn't want to go. He likes playing in his honky-tonks and doesn't crave for fame. Finally he is convinced and it wouldn't be much of a flick if he didn't, would it?

Now for the catch! On the tour, a young, former beauty queen, who wants to start a career in country music, but freezes of stage fright every time she's supposed to go on, is to follow. This girl, Chiles Stanton (played by the beautiful Leighton Meester) has a beef with Beau, but you get the feeling that the feelings Kelly have for Beau are shared by Jimmy for Chiles.

What follows is a sort of A star is born for the early 21st century, only this time it's centered around four individuals and give the flick some time and you'll see how things change emotionally.

This is not just another romantic drama. It has a dark undertone that makes it an intelligent flick. Then, to us fans of country music, it has another dimension to it as well, which I think makes it worth watching. It's almost a comment on the country music scene of today, where Beau is the old fart and jackass and Chiles the typical pop-country starlet with no respect for the roots of the genré. At one stage, Beau is called "the new Townes van Zandt", whereas Chiles ask who Townes van Zandt is. That says something, not just about this movie, but about the country scene of today as it is.

I really liked this flick a lot more than I thought I would and I do not understand why it didn't run on Swedish cinemas.

It's not a masterpiece though and some times it gets a little bit predictable.

But all in all a good film with a good soundtrack. I'll give it 78,3% in rate of satisfaction! See it!

Willie Nelson, "Live from Austin, Tx"

/ ARTIST: Willie Nelson / TITLE: "Live from Austin, Tx" / GENRÉ: Musical film / FORMAT: DVD /


Much has happened in the world since I last wrote on country music on this blog. For starters, Blake Shelton made his infamous "old farts and jackasses" statement and, very sadly, a legend passed away, none other than George Jones.

The two things can be seen as two sides of the same coin. The old timers are getting old and soon there will be no "old farts" remaining in country music and as the young generation takes other, there will be what Merle Haggard called "too much boogie-woogie" and not much traditional country. Even Dwight Yoakam is getting old.

Anyway, I often say that other people got Joy Division and Morrissey, I've got Buck Owens, but performers like Willie Nelson comes pretty close too.

This DVD/CD is a live recording of Nelson's music, spanning most of his career as it looked when he recorded this in 1990. You got all the faves on it, tunes like On the road again and Always on my mind, as well as some tunes from the start of his career like Crazy.

I've got straight edge and am no big fan of drugs, that goes without saying. Still, I think Willie Nelson, does a good job at singing, with his distinctive voice, whether it's christian music like the tunes on his Troublemaker album or the druggier stuff like his recent duet with rap legend Snoop Dogg, he always delivers.

Anyway, you don't get any open drug propaganda on this vid, but you do get music that breathes of the 70's drug-fuelled music and a couple of "far out" treatments of instruments.

But maybe this is Nelson's grandeur? That he can consume that much ganja and still remain active as a great artist. Artists who consume ganja quite often degenerate and their music becomes intolerable. Not so with Willie Nelson.

Fact is that Willie, despite being a junkie, sounds as good live as on record, something many artists of today can't manage. Over all, the band and Nelson makes a good impression of a bunch of lads and lasses who've enjoyed playing this kind of music and done it for a long time.

On this piece of recording, you also get a duet with Shelby Lynne, whom I hadn't heard before, but who's got a great voice.

I really liked this vid and would recommend it to anyone who likes country music and to fans of Willie Nelson, it's a must-have.

A vid as good as this gets a good review, 81,3% in rate of satisfaction!

Willie Nelson, "Heroes"

/ARTIST: Willie Nelson / TITLE: Heroes / GENRE: Country music / LABEL: Legacy / FORMAT: CD /

This is Willie Nelsons latest CD and the fact that it's full of interesting collaborations, including the fact that the three big names of old school country, that is Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard, are present on this disc is reason enough to buy it.

However, it's hardly groundbreaking. Willie is like Cock Sparrer, you get what you get on album after album. There are plenty of good tunes on this one, but no On the road again and no You were always on my mind. There are, however, songs with a message and songs about broken hearts, something Willie does good, cos, remember that he was a short haired singer of romantic songs once, before he turned out to be a long haired rebel.

If this record is like most other stuff he's turned out over the last few years, I would still recommend everyone to buy it and support one of the last greats of country music. I compared him to Cock Sparrer before and another trait he shares with oi! is the fact that he combines staunch patriotism with criticism of the system. He shows you can love your country and it's traditions and still be mad as hell about what the leaders of men get up to. The next last tune on the disc, Come back Jesus, shows that clearly.

I really liked Willie's reggae album and his collaboration with Toots Hibbert of the Maytals fame. When I picked this record up, I noticed on the back that he was going to collaborate with rapper Snoop Dogg. For a minute, I feared there would be some dreadful nu country, where Willie would rap. Fortunately, that didn't happen. If he went reggae on his other album, this is Snoop going country. Gangsta rap meets outlaw country. The tune itself is one of the worst tunes on the album and one can clearly hear why Snoop raps and doesn't sing normally.

Well, what could Willie and Snoop have in common? Duh!

Unfortunately, there are a few drug-glorifying tunes on this album that I, as a straight edge guy and as someone with mates that have died from overdoses, simply can't endorse. I see no reason to glorify that shit and those who do so through music should be held accountable for all the drug-related deaths there is.

Fortunately, Willie doesn't only sing about drugs. Best songs on this album are, as usual, his songs about broken hearts, whereof The sound of your memory and Just breathe stand out as the finest.

I think this is an okayish album that delivers the goods, but hardly anything groundbreaking. It gets 58,3% in rate of satisfaction!

Hank Snow, "The essential Hank Snow"

/ ARTIST: Hank Snow / TITLE: The Essential Hank Snow / GENRE: Country / LABEL: RCA / FORMAT: CD /

The title of this record says it all, it's the essential Hank Snow. Essential to one extent cos what you get is the best stuff he's done, but also cos a Hank Snow record is essential to any country music lover's collection.

Most of the stuff on this one is from the time rockabilly and rock & roll saw the light of day. I'm sure this what the squares could have a ball to in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It's not that it's bad music, it's just that it came out in a time when country music needed a kick up the arse and start to notice what was happening, something Johnny Cash did very well, by the way.

But simply saying that it's bad music, cos it was traditional, it just won't do. Hank Snow was a great singer. He had a great voice and seemed to have been able to pick the right tunes to record. What more can one ask for?

What you get on this album is a few ballads, some waltzy stuff, as well as some more uptempo numbers like the brilliant I've been everywhere, which sound at times a bit like the latest hit of young R&B star Rihanna's.

This a very good record and I would recommend it to any fan of traditional country.

I'll give it 82,5% in rate of satisfaction!

First Aid Kit, "The lion's roar"

Let me start the review of this wonderful band consisting of two young sisters from Sweden by saying that I haven't as utterly enjoyed a Swedish country act as this for, basically, ever. They're darn good at what they're doing.

Even if you don't like this act, you'd be mad not to appreciate the fact that they're putting country music firmly where it belongs, in the charts, here in Sweden.

Anyway, what you get is a band with a tune that goes "I'll be your Emmylou and I'll be your June..." and this sums the band up pretty well to some extent, cos they got that 70's country feeling to it that Emmylou Harris brought us way back when before I was even born.

Theese girls aren't satisfied with sounding as Emmylou, though, they bring their own flavour to the stew. You get some of the hippie music we all are ambigious to, including some hippie flutes that actually do the job and don't dominate it. You also get some 60's country, as well as some pure Scandinavian ingredients. For some reason, I get to think of Norwegian singer Ane Brun. I could well see First Aid Kit breaking into the charts in Norway, perhaps easier than in Sweden, as Norwegians appreciate this music higher than us Swedes. (For that matter, I can see First Aid Kit breaking into the charts everywhere, they're that good!)

At the start, I thought their lyrics were a bit too naive and bland, but the more I listen to it, the more I think they reveal a splendid youtful playfulness that is way too often abscent from contemporary music. This is a band of two young sisters singing harmonies and with lyrics that actually reflect their age. In the tune Blue, they have a verse where they rhyme two times on "you" and then "blue" and "twenty two", but it doesn't matter. As I said, it's a playfulness fitting to their age and the lyrics work well with the tunes.

Now, some may complain that the title of my blog is A Swede on American culture and this band is not American. That's just ridiculous. This band sounds a lot like the American music we all love and had they been an American band, they would have been all over the bleedin place. They're that good. It's about time us Swedes show you Americans that not all Swedish music is premanufactured disco garbage, but we can produce some fine stuff too!

Buy this record and support a young band knocking out some of the finest retro country music I've ever heard.

And oh, there's actually a bit pop thrown in for good measure too!

The best Swedish country band ever naturally gets 100% in rate of satisfaction!

Super Bowl and Taylor Swift

Lately, I've been listening manically to Taylor Swift's tune Ours. Last time I utterly enjoyed pop culture that much was when Amy Winehouse exploded onto the public space in 2006 or whenever that was.

Now, don't you call me a dirty old man. I ain't that old for starters and I am not that attracted to her anyway. It's her music I like. I think her performance of the song Ours at the 2011 CMAs stood out enormously and it reminded me of a young version of another favourite female vocalist of mine, namely Emmylou Harris.

I am definitely going to check out more stuff by miss Swift and you should too if you haven't already.

Are you going to watch the Super Bowl this year, dear reader? I think I am going to make a try at it with loads of coffee. As I live in Sweden, television coverage here doesn't start untill midnight. Luckily, I work afternoons/evenings and can start working at 2.30 pm, so I should be able to watch and still catch some sleep.

My favourite team in the NFL is the Steelers and, as you probably know already, they ain't playing. I'm left with the choices of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. As a former skinhead and as someone who still got the straight edge, I have always liked Boston cos of the great straight edge hardcore bands that have come from that city. I freakin love the band Slapshot. And the FUs. So, it's the Pats for me this Sunday night (or, technically, Monday morning).

Whoever wins and whoever you're a fan of, let's hope for a good, clean, game and a sportsman's spirit from both teams. Here in Sweden, you wouldn't be able to have a game of that magnitude with two archrivals like the Giants and the Pats without hooliganism and policemen everywhere.

I might have a few non alcoholic beers too and some snacks.

And oh, on Tuesday, I'm off to get a tattoo.

Dwight Yoakam, "Live from Austin TX"

This is actually a boxed set of one cd and one dvd of live material from what was once, back in the 1980's, a popular American tv show.

At the moment, I haven't listened to the live cd, only watched and utterly enjoyed the dvd. I'm sure I'll put the cd in my record player one time or another in the future, but at the moment I don't see the point, as it's the same material on the cd as it is on the dvd.

This vid is from a performance given in October 1988. Dwight was still new to the game, though he had released some records and consequently, this vid is full of his 80's hits we all love, groundbreaking as they was when he first came into popularity.

Dwight has a voice quite similar, I think, to Pd Heaton of British 80's pop act The Housemartins, a bit soft, one could say. This means I have trouble hearing his stage talk in between the numbers, but I'm sure he's much more confident belting out his hits than he is talking to people. He's also got those wild dance moves one has come to associate with him.

It is with difficulty one must pick the best tunes on this, cos it's full of lovely ones. I, however, think he made a wise decision in saving two of my faves for the encore, they really are some of the best he's ever sung.

One song that must be mentioned though is the classic Streets of Bakersfield, on which Dwight calls in some support from another country vocalist. I won't tell you whom, but I'm sure you can guess! ;-)

This is a good dvd and I'd recommend it, not just to Dwight's die hard fans, but also to country fans in general and to people into 80's country music in particular, cos he was one of the most important newcomers back in the days and he's still a master musician.

A good, although not perfect vid like this gets 73,7% in rate of satisfaction.

Various Artists, "The stuff that dreams are made of"

This two disc compilation features rare collectibles in cajun, country, blues and pre-bluegrass, vinyl now made available on cd.

Lately, I've grown to appreciate old American folk tremendously. Sure, I like a lot of modern stuff too, but theese old records from the 20's and 30's have a quality to them like movies from that age shares as well. Just as laurel and Hardy still make you chuckle in a sense Adam Sandler won't in just ten years, theese skilled musicians (among them my fave, Dock Boggs) knock out quality tunes that makes you want to put on your dancing shoes.

There's a lot of blues on this compilation and I for one ain't all that keen on blues, sure, I can listen to it and enjoy it, it's just that I don't enjoy it as much as other genres of American folk.

There's a few instrumental tunes on the discs, as well as quite a few with singing to them and they all have that old record feel to them, none of the tunes have been processed with equaliser, the background, old vinyl, dust sound is all there.

Musically, the tunes are well more diverse than today's format. You get piano and trumpets on some tunes, instruments that are not too common on today's folk recordings.

Lyrically, you get a lot of innocense too. Country had, back in those days, often a humorous side to it that more modern country tunes (with perhaps the exception of Johnny Cash's Boy named Sue) lack. Wilmer Watts and the lonely eagles has a very funny tune on this one, that is Fightin' in the war with Spain.

The only things that I hold against this record is that there's not enough Cajun tunes, there's too much blues and that one of the tunes, Chicken don't roost too high, by The Georgia Pot Lickers, could be interpreted as a racist tune, which might have been acceptable in the 20's, but not now and even if it is a collectible, it shouldn't have been included on a record with musicians what own that much to African American traditions.

This means that this compilation is, in other words, not perfect, but pretty close. I give it 95,8% in level of satisfaction.

Faron Young, "The best of"

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.

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.

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.

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!

Buck Owens, "All-time greatest hits"

Country music is slowly becoming more popular in Sweden and I feel I am on a mission to make it even more popular. Sadly, to many people in this country, country music is Dolly Parton (by whom they mean Jolene) and Johnny Cash (by whom they mean Hurt), then little more.

Today, my mission means opening my fellow countrymen's ears for the little known Bakersfield sound and one of the top acts of that sound, that is Buck Owens.

The Bakersfield sound is a favourite of mine, I really, really love Buck Owens song Act naturally, it's definitely on my top ten of all times. What makes it special is the crude guitar sound. I am a former skinhead and have listened to pretty brutal music in my days, but I've never heard anyone play that melodic and upbeat tunes like Buck Owens can and then throw in some guitar chords as simple, yet brutal as that. It's undescribable, you'll only know what it sounds like once you've heard it yourself.

The music is upbeat most of times, but lyrics are not always that positive, although there are exceptions. If you want to criticise Buck Owens, one could say that he got stuck in the 50's and pretty much learned his wordsmithery from Hank Williams sr, cos there's quite a few number about heartaches. The closing track though, made famous to my generation from the version Buck cut with Dwight Yoakam, Streets of Bakersfield contain som social commentary.

Buck is good at playing good tunes (dunno whether he wrote them himself or not) and has a voice good for singing. He's by no means no Pavarotti, but he can sing allright. That means that this album, maybe with the exception of the Tall dark stranger tune, is worth buying. There's no reason not to like this record and I give it two thumbs up.

A good, but by no means flawless album gets 97,3% in level of satisfaction.

Merle Haggard, "20 greatest hits"

Merle Haggard is an artist I can't stop listening to. Sure, not everything he has done is a masterpiece, but he's made quite a few tunes good enough for one to invest in this cd. They're all here.

If you like Merle or never heard about Merle, but you like outlaw country, then you'll like this. There's been quite a few outlaw country artists, but most of them come out sounding like a poor man's Johnny Cash. Merle is different in the sense that he has added his personal touch in the form of his background in the 50's Bakersfield sound and the guitars you love from Buck Owens tunes are all here. Sometimes Merle explores a gentler touch as well, there's quite a few love songs on this cd too.

No matter how much you love Merle's gentler side or his socially aware stuff, when you make a Greatest Hits album, you must include Okie from Muskogee and The fightin' side of me and they are of course both included and Okie... is the version that is best, the live version.

For those of you that have never heard Merle, these tunes are tunes that you, due to their lyrics, either love or hate. The fightin' side of me is a declaration of war against peaceniks and hippies at a time when America fought a war in Vietnam. It's a rallying call for the silent majority to stand up and be counted, to defend American values.

Okie... is simillar. It's a song of love directed towards the American redneck. It's about a place, Muskogee in Oklahoma, where "even squares can have a ball" and include lyrics like "we don't smoke mariuahna in Muskogee, we don't take our trips on LSD" and lines about not lettings one's hair grow long and shaggy like the hippies down in San Francisco do. This tune came out about the same time as The fightin' side of me and became a huge hit among rednecks at the time, though Merle later claimed that Okie... was a pisstake and that he himself smoke weed everywhere cept for when he's in Muskogee.

These two tunes are my faves on this album, but there are many other good tunes too, among them Workin' man blues and Branded man.

Get this record somehow or get any other, there's plenty of Merle Haggard compilations out there!

A good, but in no sense perfect intro to the work of Merle Haggard receives 82,1% in rate of approval.

The Bob Marley and Desmond Dekker of country music

As an old skinhead, I am a fan of reggae music or at least was so until a few years ago. I can't stand modern reggae or "ragga", as they call it, though I really liked Willie Nelson's reggae album.

Anyhow, whenever one says that one likes reggae, you get the usual reaction. "Oh, you like Bob Marley". Which I, in fact, don't particulary do. Sure, some of his 60's stuff was great, but when he progressed to his rastafarian, drug-fuelled crap, it just got too druggie for my taste.

I do appreciate his role in spreading reggae music to a wider audience though, he was a fantastic embassador for the genre. It's just, I think, a bit arrogant to believe that the whole genre starts and ends with one man. I am a far bigger fan of Desmond Dekker, who was the first Jamaican reggae artist with a major smash hit abroad (no, I don't count Millie, cos she was ska and not reggae) and Toots or Jimmy Cliff.

Lately, it has been popular to like Johnny Cash and you get a lot of people talking about Johnny as people talk about Bob. You tell them you like country music and people say "Oh, I love Johnny Cash". Good for them, Johnny Cash was a genious, but can you truly claim to love a genre if you've only heard one man's music?

When it comes to country music, the Desmond Dekker of country is Hank Williams sr and Johnny Cash was the Bob Marley in my book any day. Johnny revolutionised country and brought it a social commentary it hadn't had since the days of Woody Guthrie, although Johnny was definitely not a bloody commie, like Woody was.

The social commentary bit is another reason why I think Johnny as the Bob of country and why I think Hank was the Desmond Dekker. Like Des, Hank stuck to easy listening like themes, most often about broken hearts and misery and never took the step into radical stuff. As a beacon of light for country music in a time when country was not all that it was to become after him, Hank changed a lot of things in the scene and is still an inspiration for many young artists.

Kris Kristofferson, "Closer to the bone"

I like Kris K, but I don't worship him like some reviewers do.

Sure, mr Kristofferson is beyond doubt one of the best wordsmiths country music has ever fostered and although his voice isn't beautiful, it's distinctive and it "works". Then add the fact that he has a talent for good music too.

On this album, what you get is a bunch of emotional country songs, not necessarily emotional as in crying material, but simply songs investigating various emotions, although there is certainly a few blue tunes too.

Musically, there's not much more than an accoustic guitar on this little darling and Kris comes across sounding a little bit like Johnny Cash did on his last recordings and a little bit like Townes van Zandt, but most of all like himself.

There's a few surprises too, like a song about Sinead O'Connor, didn't see that one coming.

There is not a weak song on this album, but there's also not a really strong standout song, no hammers, just good songs. The fact that this album is just about 30 minutes saves it, cos I couldn't listen any longer to a, by all means good, album, but somewhat repetitive.

This means that I can't give the album a rave review.

78,3% is all it gets in level of satisfaction.