First off, a huge shout out to savingcountrymusic.com for introducing me to this artist and her beautiful album. Sometimes I'll tentatively poke into an album by an artist that's new to me, and if I like what I hear, make a note to revisit it when I'm in a "new music mood." That didn't happen with Holidays. The first song "Just Like Heartache" pulled me in, and I knew I had to hear every song and add it to my collection. This feels personal, and familiar, on first listen.
You can tell just from the title, this is an album about life. It's definitely on the singer/songwriter side, country but not big, giant country like Miranda Lambert. There's no guns a blazin'; more like if every song was like "The House that Built Me." But it feels big in its seeming smallness. This is the Every(wo)man record I was pining for. You'll want to play this all the way through, not just because every song is good, but because the album feels thematic, like going through someone's old picture album. The simple, traditional music fits seamlessly with her vocals and the tone of the lyrics. It's not anthemic and it doesn't need to be. Its ambitions lie in its storytelling: the moments, milestones and mementos of our everyday lives, the beauty and heartbreak that comes from just living. Often the things we treasure most, and miss when they're gone, are the little things. The holidays and wedding rings.
I'm loathe to pick out single tracks here, because I love this so much as a whole. But a few favorites:
Just Like Heartache - There's something about a melodic, upbeat song about pain that just gets to me. Maybe it gives it a note of hopefulness, that this feeling will pass? It's just a damn great sounding song. "Ain't it just like heartache, to be something you can't shake, with just any old lover."
You Left My Chair - co-written with Jason Eady, this is a beautiful take on life after a divorce. "When you leave things alone, it's a wonder they survive." Wow. You might have lost love, but part of you, like your favorite chair, will always remain. It will survive.
Whisper on My Skin - Her vulnerable, haunting vocals implore you to find joy in life's simple beauties, like the sunlight streaming in the window, from the point of view of one who's been down and never wants to go back there again. It's almost like a lullaby. I don't spend this song freely, because it always makes me cry.
Just Some Things, feat. Wade Bowen - If I had to pick a lone standout track, this is it. The cold slap of reality in the face of temptation. "There ain’t no grey, only white and black, and there’s just some things you can’t take back." Damn.
I can't recommend this album enough. If you like smart, melodic, emotionally resonant country music, it doesn't get much better than this.
2. Traveller - Chris Stapleton
There are still some willing to discount Chris Stapleton because of his part in some of recent country's worst songs. I'm not one of them. I can't fault a musician for putting food on the table. It's a hard business to make a living at. How many quality songs do you suppose he tried to peddle, and got turned down? And if he didn't write those terrible songs, someone else would have, maybe someone as hack and undeserving as Dallas Davidson. Stapleton has made a clear statement here in choosing what material went on his album, under his name, and if those shitty past songs helped this album get made, then they were by-God worth it. So I'm just gonna take Traveller at face value, and let someone else do the worrying.
I actually wanted to say that more than I want to discuss the album at much length, because everyone and their uncle Steve has talked about this album. What's left to say? Where do I start? Okay, his voice. If you've ever wanted to hear the vocal personification of a bottle of Jack Daniels, here you go. So it's no surprise he covered "Tennessee Whiskey," and completely made it his own. While he's more than capable of stone-cold country, his voice is at its core, a soul voice. He could do an album of 60s soul covers and it would be amazing and I would buy it and listen to it all the time. But what he's made with Traveller is something even better and more unique: a soulful country album.
Country and soul (true soul, Otis Redding soul, not that watered-down poppy-type r&b) have always seemed like two sides of the same coin to me. They're both born of the human condition more than say, rock or classical or any other genre, and they've both appealed to a wide audience, despite having pretty specific origins. They're styles that tap into something deep within, even for those of us far removed from where they actually originated. And that's what makes Traveller such a classic to me. I wouldn't describe this album as "combining genres," it's country (with some bluesy southern rock elements). But Stapleton has the kind of booming soul voice you don't normally hear in country, and it colors his material in the best way.
This would also make a great road trip album (it's called Traveller, so yeah), and "road" music is a personal favorite of mine. I've been on many road trips across the US, so the images evoked in these songs strike a real chord with me. I always wonder, how do those songs affect people who haven't been on the road much? Do they imagine the things I've seen? That's the great thing about it, you don't have to have "been there, done that" to enjoy it. There's just a romantic nature to the road that speaks to everyone. And it's one of the few things where the reality lives up to the romantic notions. There's also an undertone of melancholy; being on the road because you want to be lost. You can't tell where the road ends and you begin anymore, and that's just fine.
I also love sad or bittersweet songs about drinking and barrooms. They can be a dime a dozen in country music, but "Whiskey and You" and "Tennessee Whiskey" are top-notch. So if you love the road and whiskey as I do, this album is a great way to combine them without getting a DUI. ;)
Favorite tracks:
All of them? Okay, a few mentions since I'm not gonna run down the whole album.
Tennessee Whiskey - Vocal performance of the year.
Nobody to Blame - Straightforward country, this would have been big in the 90s. Kinda sounds like something Travis Tritt would have done. I hope this gains traction on radio, cause if you're looking for a country station and this is on, you'd actually be able to tell that you found one. "Turned my life into this country song, and I got nobody to blame but me." SING IT.
More of You - I wondered who was doing the lovely female harmonies on this album, and it turns out it's his wife, Morgaine. That's just beautiful, and so is this old-school country love song.
Traveller - "I don't know where I'm going, but I've got to go." That might be my favorite road lyric I've ever heard. I love songs that unearth those little truths of life. This was the first song I heard off this album, and not only is it great but it appealed to me specifically. In 2008, around the same time I made that post about trains, I wrote this: "My favorite place to be is lost. Like driving down a back road and you don't really know where you are but you want to keep going forever kind of lost. It feels right. Maybe because I don't really belong anywhere right now. But the open road... that belongs to everyone." The open road is an invitation, but it can also be a form of limbo, good or bad. Because what happens when you're lonely and you want to go home, but you can't?
"My heartbeat’s rhythm is a lonesome sound, just like the rubber turning on the ground, always lost and nowhere bound."
Maybe it's weird to be drawn to songs that relate to stuff I wrote when I was sad, but I am because it's real.
Whiskey and You - "Come tomorrow, I can walk in any store, it ain’t a problem, they’ll always sell me more
But your forgiveness, well, that’s something I can’t buy
There ain’t a thing that I can do, that’s the difference between whiskey and you"
This has a Tom Waits quality to it, and he's the master of the sad drinking song that makes you oddly want a drink. The piano has been drinking, not me. Whiskey might be ruining my life, but at least it's always there. That's because it doesn't have a soul, but hey. Sometimes you just need to get through the night. Also, I have a strong desire to hear him do Waits' "House Where Nobody Lives," because he would KILL IT.
Parachute - "You only need a drink when the whiskey is the only thing you have left to hold
Sun comes up and goes back down and falling feels like flying till you hit the ground
Say the word and I’ll be there for you baby, I will be your parachute."
This is a powerhouse, and a comfort. A different take from "Whiskey and You;" maybe there is hope for salvation after all. I like to listen to this one last. AND HOLY CRAP, HIS VOICE. *is reduced to goo*
Okay I could mention every song, but I wanna get this thing done before 2016.
1. Holding All the Roses - Blackberry Smoke
My favorite album of 2015 comes with the shortest description, because what do I really have to say other than "music Dean Winchester would crank in the Impala?" DONE.
Okay not quite, but almost. This is vintage road trip music, ripped from the glorious era of pounding, driving southern rock via the world's coolest time machine.* But this should not be considered "retro" or "throwback." There's nothing kitschy about it. This is the real deal, just done a few decades later. This is a pure, foot-stomping, rollicking good time, with a few mellow, thoughtful numbers that keep the party from getting too out of hand.
*if the time machine's rockin', don't come a-knockin'.
Music never dies, so it shouldn't have to be relegated to a certain time. Sure, we don't listen to say, 40s style pop anymore, but there's nothing intrinsic to tuneful Southern rock that says "dated like bell bottoms." Other than it being mercifully not electronic. This is keeping a worthy tradition alive. So grab this and Traveller for your next road adventure, along with the Allman Bros and CCR and Zeppelin. THIS. ALBUM. ROCKS. And don't call it a throwback. Call it my favorite album of 20-damn-15.
Favorite tracks:
Too High - This song is not about weed, sorry Kacey Musgraves. I wasn't sure what it was about - being unwilling or unable to get out of a bad situation, was the best I could do - so I looked it up. "“The song has to do with whatever plague is sucking a little town dry,” Blackberry Smoke singer and guitarist Charlie Starr tells Rolling Stone. “Whether it’s the meth epidemic or oxy." ...Damn, that's pretty heavy, especially considering the mellow, 70s country-rock vibe.
Fire in the Hole - Pure, heavy guitar-driven rock and roll. Hail.
Let Me Help You (Find the Door) - This manages to sound straight from the 70s and still fresh. Especially with lyrics like these:
"Why's it got to be the same damn thing, same damn song that everybody wants to sing
Same sons of bitches still rigging the game, they sell the same old faces with a brand new name...
Standing in the back with a shit eatin' grin, they were buying it once I bet they'll buy it again...
As long as it's the devil you know, I bet he got a piece of your soul."
I feel that one phrase describes the state of mainstream music and radio better than anything ever could. It's not comforting, but it is enlightening. And the song rocks.
Rock and Roll Again -
No Way Back to Eden - A mellow, country-ish song with mournful lyrics. "We dipped ourselves in the river, but we never get clean
There’s no way back to Eden, from what I’ve seen... Oh this life, is dragging us one and all out of paradise." It can be hard sometimes, feeling a spiritual connection in a world gone mad. When you feel like you can't save yourself from the world's misery, and wonder if there's anything better waiting, or if we even deserve saving anymore. It's almost surprising how introspective these guys can be, considering how hard they rock. Damn, this is a great band. And I still believe that rock and roll can save your soul. :)
Woman in the Moon - An almost mystical song, this is one I really relate to. It's about someone who's born a little different, drawn to the darkness of night, his only guide the woman in the moon. This is one of my most-listened to tracks; I find it strangely comforting. This is probably also my favorite production on the album. It feels a little otherworldly, which just enhances a beautifully-written song. (Side note: the production can be a little heavy at times on the album, but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment.)
Living in the Song - "It’s like livin’ in the words of a song, I’ve been runnin’ from the hurt for too long
I don’t know how to say I was wrong, All I know is how to be gone"
HELP, I'M TRAPPED IN A COUNTRY SONG AND I CAN'T GET OUT! That would be.. terrible, really. This is a punchy power-pop-rocker with a hint of country, and my second-favorite track. Great, catchy melody and the absolutely tight, perfect instrumentation that's present on every song. Seriously, if I praised how great these guys' playing and arrangements are as much as they deserved, it would be redundant as hell.
Aaaaand my favorite song on my favorite album, which also happens to be my overall favorite song of the year!
Holding All the Roses - THIS ROCKS IN ALL WAYS A THING CAN POSSIBLY ROCK. IT ALSO ROLLS. I'm not sure what I love more, the driving beat, the melodic vocal line, or the delightful smorgasbord of instruments they throw into the cauldron. Fiddle? WHY NOT! And it works. If I ever make a list of my top 10 all time favorite rock songs, which I probably should, this will be on it. Though calling this "rock" is almost diminishing it by labeling it. And because it's so complex, with all these parts working together in beautiful, pounding harmony, it has endless replay value. Especially when you want to feel pumped up. It's great in the car, exercising, cleaning your kitchen, feeding your cat, and on every single Friday night til the end of time. The title is a declaration of winning, and this is a big win for music lovers.
Honorable mentions:
SINGLE - But You Like Country Music - Sunny Sweeney and Brennen Leigh
This isn't on an album, but it's totally worth a mention. Seriously screw politics, long live music!
The Underdog - Aaron Watson
This was one of my top albums most all year. Straightforward, energetic 90s-esque country with a positive message. I genuinely love this, but in the end I had to go with Cass County, the latest-released of my picks. It just spoke to me more. Still, a great effort by Aaron Watson and one I'll be returning to for a long time.
Favorite tracks: Fence Post, Freight Train, Getaway Truck (a good country truck song!), That's Why God Loves Cowboys, Wildfire
The Blade - Ashley Monroe
This is an honorable mention because I only just heard it recently, and am still digesting it. If I grow to love it as much as my top 6, maybe I'll have to revise the list. But for now - another fantastic female country voice shunned by radio for people like Kelsea Ballerini. Sigh. This is pretty much my idea of what a 2015 mainstream country album should be. It feels warm and familiar, but with plenty of fresh air and sunlight streaming in. Like an old house with the windows open.
Favorite tracks - The Blade (If you think good country metaphors have run dry, give this a listen - "For you, it's over; for me, it's not, I kept trying and you just stopped, now I know how you can sound so brave, cause you caught it by the handle, and I caught it by the blade"), Winning Streak (killer vocals), If the Devil Don't Want Me, Mayflowers, I'm Good at Leavin' (my favorite)
Jekyll + Hyde - Zac Brown Band
Yeah, I went there. Beautiful Drug aside, this album has way more good material than bad. Dress Blues, Loving You Easy, Homegrown, Tomorrow Never Comes(Acoustic), Remedy, I'll Be Your Man, and a pretty damn good rock song with Heavy is the Head. And yeah, I like the inevitable catchy beach song, Castaway, and hope it will be a single next summer. (Sorry folks, I'm one of those fans who eats up the "island" songs. They always sound so good, and they give me an excuse to make a margarita.) This is overall a solid album, and what worries me about the band isn't the album itself - ZBB has always experimented and have stated themselves they're not a country band- but releasing Beautiful Drug to country radio. That's new, and that's scary. But for now, I'll just enjoy the good stuff on Jekyll and Hyde.
My final thoughts for 2015. Well, I obviously still have a lot to explore from this year. I'm slow, I'll get there. Well slow sounds bad, let's go with... discerning. yeah. My goal is to be more adventurous in 2016, possibly even "cool" again. As much as I love country and classic rock, I need to get into more new rock, more cutting edge music. The current predilection for the electronic kinda soured me on exploring, like there's a... robot bear* lurking in the woods, but there's got to be more out there. I think my newfound love for Paramore helped wake me up. (Don't you love when a band you've always liked around the edges just suddenly hits you?) I mean, they're not cutting edge, they're pretty mainstream, but some stuff on their latest album reminds me of my rock chick days. It's worth a listen if you like female-fronted pop/rock, even if you don't care for the singles.
My final final thought. If there's one thing that's been reinforced for me lately, it's listen to albums. If an artist interests you, just listening to the singles is like only reading a few chapters of a book. And often, not even the most interesting chapters.
*robot bears, yikes!
