Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
There was huge surge in music sales after people saw Ken Burn’s documentary, Country Music. All of the Mount Rushmore country artists saw a huge increase in their royalty checks. That is great, but it also highlights the fact that people are unaware that the music that people revere is still very much alive and well.
These aren’t tribute bands, these are performers carrying on a long tradition. One of those such bands is The Reeves Brothers. This is not just a copy, this is a case where performers are giving an interpretation of traditional country music. They are using modern recording equipment and are incorporating influences from rock, jazz, and singer/songwriters. But it is still as “country” and twangy AF.
One listen to a song like I’m Still Crazy and it will invoke those feelings that one gets when they listen to the classics. The pedal steel is front and center and makes me shake my head and move my legs to the beat of the music. This is pretty typical subject matter for a classic country song. You got a romance gone wrong, drinking, and spending too much time at the bar. But, it seems that maybe that isn’t the complete truth. Maybe a touch of regret in this song that the relationship is in fact finished.
I’ve Lost All My Strength To Sing The Blues is the perfect second part of a one-two combination. While I’m Still Crazy is a song of heartbreak where the main character is happy, this song is sung from an entirely different perspective. In this case, the main is very distraught and doesn’t know how he will get by. If the last song didn’t make you cry just a little, I’ve Lost All My Strength To Sing The Blues will finish the job. I double dare you not to shed a tear.
There is no shortage of sad songs on The Last Honky Tonk, but that’s what people who love country music adore. No, not all the time, but a good healthy dose now and again does the body good. As Charlie Pride said during Country Music. “You may cry, but you’re gonna feel better afterward.” That quote couldn’t be more true. It Gets Cold At Night In California is the perfect song for that. Yes, it will make you cry, but you will feel so much better when you get it off your chest. It’s group therapy with a beat. A song about loneliness and using cold weather as the ideal metaphor.
It is my sincere hope that this review will convince those non believers out there that real country music is alive and well. That’s why Twangri-La is here, to hopefully bring some of these fantastic artists to the public’s attention. You don’t have to lament about the “good old days” of country music. No, in fact it is all around you. Let The Last Honky Tonk by The Reeves Brothers be your gateway drug into the world of country. Welcome!
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