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.

Frank Hutchison, "Complete recorded works in chronological order, volume 1, 1926-1929"

/ ARTIST: Frank Hutchison / TITLE: "Complete recorded works in chronological order, volume 1, 1926-29" / GENRÉ: American folk music / LABEL: Document Records / FORMAT: CD /

Who says Sham 69 invented street punk? Frank Hutchison had a lot of punk attitude, despite this record  being made with only acoustic guitars, fiddle, harmonica and banjo. Hutchison was a working class man, like so many other of the musicians in his time, he befriended black musicians (but had no qualms with performing a black face routine) and his lyrics are punk too.

But what made me think of punk when I listened to this record is the fact that Hutchsion performs with an enormous speed at some tunes, it's "faster, louder" 50 years before it's time. Some of the rag-times on this album could easily have been made by some punk combo, if they had been recorded with electrical instruments and drums.

On this album, you get, which is logical, as it is the beginning of his complete works, a showcase of his enormous repertoire. You get a lot of blues numbers that could've been recorded by black performers, the quality of the guitar play is that good, only his voice, which I find mediocre and his least quality in music, give him away. He sounds like a southerner trying to pass as a New England man.

You also get, apart from proper blues numbers, early country tunes, singing-free rag-times where Hutchison shows his great techniques with the guitar, pre-bluegrass and talking blues numbers.

I really like the Document Records project of re-releasing on CD a lot of old-timers that would otherwise be left as the luxury of anal 78-collectors. Yeah, record-collecting has it's charm, but at some time it has to be about the music and not about rarity, so let the collectors collect vinyl and let us ordinary fans of American music listen to these CDs.

No mess, no fuss, just pure impact. If you like old-time American music, you'll love this album, I think Hutchison was one of the best performers of his time and this little record should have a place in the collection of every true fan of the genré(s).

The only thing I'm slightly miffed with is the fact that the bio, as usual, is bloody short. I'd love to read more about him.

Get this record!

A great record like this gets a great rating. 94,3% 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!

DVD: "Elvis, the king of rock'n'roll"

/ ARTIST: Elvis Presley / TITLE: "Elvis, the king of rock'n'roll" / GENRÉ: Musical film / FORMAT: DVD /

This wonderful DVD has been in my collection for a while, but I haven't watched it until now.

What you get on this disc is a collection of TV performances and parts of his movie acting career where he sings. This means that some of his best stuff, the stuff he did at Sun records, before he got a chance to be on the telly, stuff like my all time fave Elvis tune, Mystery train, isn't included. That's a pity, I'd love to see someone unearth old amateur films of his performances from the mid-50's, if they exist.

There are 30 numbers apart from two bonus material-press conferences on this disc. Most of the stuff is from his hey-day, the 50's TV performances and his many films from the 60's. This fact means that you get a lot of material which harks back to the days when the establishment tried to tame him and make "safe" numbers about teddy bears, but, sure enough, Hound dog and Heartbreak hotel are included.

You also get a few cuts from his comeback in 1968, as well as some of his 70's stuff. Now, I like the schmalzy side of Elvis too, his ballads and his teddy bears, but there is something wrong when he performs with a big band. Rock'n'roll was meant to be played with guitars, bass and drums. Not, as I said, with a big band and a million background singers. Most of the stuff made by the king in the 70's is just the antithesis to what one appreciates in Elvis. The one big exception vein Suspicious minds, of course. You can try to tame Elvis and give him a rhinestone jacket, but in the end, a rebel remains a rebel and Elvis was, as top UK punk band What A Riot put it, "born a rebel".

When Elvis performs Suspicious minds, a tune that will go down in music history as one of the best tunes ever made by any human being, you can glimpse a bit of 50's Elvis, dancing, singing and joking. Top quality! It doesn't get much better than this!

Apart from the "true" numbers, you get some of the most joked about Elvis tunes too, like Are you lonesome tonight?, which I won't comment and In the ghetto.

The ghetto tune has been ridiculed, but I don't find that funny. Sure, Elvis was rich and famous by the 70's, but he had a background in deep poverty and knew what he was singing about. I appreciate Elvis, cos he was very much an antithesis to the pot-smoking hippies at the time (sorry, Willie Nelson, you still rule!) who didn't know what they were singing about, but trying to make a stance as radical as possible. The fact that Elvis, icon of another generation, takes his time to write a protest song, which he pulls off with full credibility in my book, speaks more to his favor more than any MC5 tune.

If you're an Elvis fan, you're gonna like this. True, there's a zillion Elvis clips on youtube, but this a movie and well worth the investment. Any Elvis fan should have it in his or hers collection.

A great DVD like this naturally get's a high rate of satisfaction, 96,7%, to be precise!