Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

What a breath of fresh air! Very traditional country and rockabilly style in the vein of Duane Eddy, Marty Robbins, and even some Jerry Lee Lewis. These guys don’t only play the music, they wear the traditional country garb as well. They not only play the part, they look the part. The total rockabilly package. And, they kick major ass. These guys can play their asses off and it sounds fantastic. Cupid And The Devil is not only the album title but a track on the album. It is a rockabilly tale with twang, almost haunting guitars. This music never goes out of style and Ryan Cain & The Ables execute perfectly. These guys can play fast and furious such as tracks like Keep The Change, Kill Devil Hillbilly and I Call Bullshit. They can also slow it down and play with sensitivity as evidenced on Selfie Of Your Heart, Tears Of Doom, and Talk To Me. If I have a honky tonk party or hootenanny, I want Ryan Cain & The Ables to be the soundtrack. Show ’em your support here.

Reviewed By Harry Kaplan 

Wow! This is 70’s classic country at its best. And this music is being made now! Beautiful ballads and duets throughout this release. They traverse from Tex-Mex to honky tonk to classic country like old pros. Well, Diff and Dudley are old pros. They have had successful musical careers of their own but came together to release an album that would have sounded great in 1977 and sounds perfect in 2016! They take the best elements of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and George Jones to create a sound that while it pays tribute to the greats, is absolutely original. Lovely playing with plenty-o-twang.

I have listened to the entire CD, all 12 tracks, and there wasn’t a bad song on it. They are twangy and pure honky tonk numbers. I really love this. Good writing. Well the writing isn’t exactly highbrow, but it is clever and well written. Well take track 4 for instance, Weed. You can guess what it’s about. The chorus goes something like this: “Sit Down, Shut up, Smoke weed, I really think it’s just your speed, There’s just nothing to it, It’s a natural thing to do, And what’s good for me is probably good for you.” Obviously, these guys are staunch supporters of the marijuana lobby. Fall In Love Again (Track 1) is a Tex Mex ditty that is pristine. I could imagine this tune playing on a jukebox in a dusty little bar in West Texas. The vocals and harmonies and backing instruments make this a classic. Troubles (Track 10) is another lovely twangy crooner that could be on any honky tonk juke box anywhere. It just sounds right. You can buy it here.

Here are two fine songs from the album:

Troubles

I’ll try

 

 

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Some people think 7 is a lucky number. I have a feeling the members of Silver Treason do since that is how long it took them to release their first album, The Golden Age Of Silver Treason. The name Silver Treason has very interesting origins. Kevin Cameron’s mother, in her teen years wanted to attend a Catholic High School named Holy Names Academy. Her parents could not afford the tuition to go there. One day she was at the horse races with her father who made a deal with her. She could pick a horse for the final race of the day, if it won, her father would split the winnings with her. You know the rest of the story, the horse won and paid $250. With her half of the money, Kevin’s mother was able to pay the school’s $100 tuition. The name of the horse was, you guessed it, Silver Treason. It is an unbelievable story. Can you believe tuition to a private school was $100? Me either.

The music is perfect classic country. Pedal steel and twang laden. The CD starts out strong with Brand New Same Old Me. Great vocals and songwriting. It does not let up wither track 2, Ballerina Eyes, a very upbeat number. Another great country tune. Crown Vic (Track 4) is another energetic number with great pedal steel and very high energy vocals. This is a very fast paced and up tempo CD. The only slower number on the CD is I Still Hear The Bells (Track 9). If you are looking for a melancholy album to drown your sorrows in, this isn’t it. If you are looking for a nice upbeat album, you have come to the right place. Very good indeed. You can listen to the entire album on Soundcloud here. Then buy in on Amazon.

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

I first discovered The Dexateens around 2008 or so. I was listening to the Drive By Truckers on ITunes or maybe it was Napster when it was legal. I got one of those recommendations, you know the ones, if you like the Drive By Truckers…..you may like this. Normally those recommendations are garbage, as they would recommend The Carpenters or Ambrosia. This time, however, they were spot on. I remember listening to Hard Wire Healing, their 2007 release, and literally my jaw dropped. They were spectacular. My first thought was, how come these guys aren’t bigger? Some time passed and Singlewide was released in 2009. Another great release. A little less frenetic than Hard Wire Healing but every bit as good. Solid song writing and playing were evident from the opening to closing note. I wanted to see these guys live. I would bring earplugs because I am guessing they play loud. Then in 2011, they were gone. They took either a sabbatical or officially broke up. Call it what you will. I was disappointed for sure.

I get it though. Life happens. People get married and have kids and start careers. It doesn’t exactly coincide with the life of a touring band on the road. I really didn’t have any hopes that these guys would get back together. Added to that, their bass player Matt Patton, landed a full time gig as the bass player for the Drive By Truckers. And Lee Baines, their guitar player, departed the band and started his own project. So the future of The Dexateens did not look promising. And then came Teenage Hallelujah. This album was recorded back in 2011 before the band’s break. It was the end of the Lee Baines era. But, the good news is the band is back together! They have been playing live and doing some limited touring. And Matt Patton is working 2 shifts as the bass player of The Dexateens and The Drive By Truckers.

As I listen to Teenage Hallelujah, one thing is evidently clear. This band had evolved from a noisy, sloppy (and I mean sloppy in a positive way), southern rock band into a mature southern rock band. Yes, they can still get raucous and loud, but they pick their spots. The writing is fantastic and tells stories about the southern experience. Forget about pop country. If you want to get a sense of how country folk live and think, listen to Teenage Hallelujah. Songs like Old rebel, Alabama Redneck, Boys With Knives, and Redbird Road, among others, tell vivid tales of the southern experience. It isn’t always flattering or pretty, but The Dexateens tell it like it is. This is unadulterated southern rock in its purest form. 198 proof. You can have a listen to a couple of tracks on Teenage Hallelujah here. Here is the link to buy this fine release. Welcome back boys, we missed you!

 

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

I was turned on to these guys by my good buddy Mike from Cowboy’s Juke Joint. I liked them a lot and now it is time for a review. Pure outlaw country mixed with a healthy dose of rock n roll. These boys from Tennessee love loud guitars and harmonica and it shows. And boy does it sound good. The first track is a barn burner right out of the gate with Let Me Down. Harmonica? Check. Loud raucous guitars? Check. I am sold. It does not let up either on the second track, If A Frog Had Wings is a rockabilly number right out of Jerry Lee Lewis’ playbook. It makes you wanna get up and dance and maybe spill a little beer. Another jaw droppingly good release from 2016. It is shaping up to be a true banner year in music. This is a can’t miss. I know I write that a lot, but this time I really mean it. Judge for yourself here.

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Wacky is the operative word here. But in a good drank too much, stereo’s too loud, memory lapse kinda way. A healthy mix of sloppy rock n roll, 77 punk, southern rock and honky tonk just about sums this up. This is good time party music. But, the writing is way better than most party music you will ever hear. Although the music is light hearted and funny at times, these guys are first rate musicians and writers. It is a breath of freash air to have a band of people that don’t take themselves too seriously. I can pretty much surmise from listening to Wild Bill And The Lost Knobs that they don’t take themselves too seriously. 

Tell Me What I Did Wrong is the perfect example. It is Ramones meets Elvis Costello meets Hank Williams. Humorous but hard driving with lovely harmonies straight of 77. They get their point across in a humorous way yet very intelligent. Themes on Scumbags Of The Rodeo include drinking too much, relationships troubles, run ins with the law, and just being down on your luck. All of the classic country themes are represented well here. Bill and Amanda Ogden, the dual vocalists have perfect voices for this band and the harmonies are world class. Ledge is another winner which opens with a beautiful little mandolin solo and speaks about waking up on a ledge outside. Too much livin’ on the edge caused the incident on the ledge.  Well, I don’t want to give too much away. The element of surprise at just how amazing this album is should be experienced by everyone. Bandcamp is the place to listen and buy.

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

I have been under the impression for a long time that there was very little good music being made today. Things were better way back when, I thought. As I listen to new releases every day, I realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong. There is so much good music being made today. Maybe more than ever. What is missing are the outlets to discover new and innovative artists. The artists are out there, all over the world. There are so many individuals who are creative that get the “bug” to express themselves and make a recording. Surprisingly, most are quite good. These records are produced extremely well and just sound great.

Nathan Seeckts is a perfect example of this. Seeckts, an Australian native, takes to Americana as if he was from Omaha or Kansas City. This release in the Americana realm is pretty close to flawless. Seeckts is a great story teller and weaves a rich tapestry of characters and storylines in his songs. His voice is a cross between Ben Nichols (Lucero) and Jason Isbell. Seeckts definitely writes in an “Isbell” style without being just a forgery. Seeckts has his own personal style that while close in nature to Nichols and Isbell, will never be confused.  I root for people like this and you should too. You will be rewarded with great music while supporting a very worthy artist. You can listen to A Man Possessed on his Bandcamp site and I assure you , you will want to own it once you hear it.

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

The first thing that caught my attention is the writing. It is outstanding. I listen to a lot of recordings that contain good writing, but this stands above most of them. The lyrics on all the tracks make me say wow, I am astounded that someone wrote this in such a creative and unique way. That doesn’t happen too often to me, but it happened multiple times when listening to 5 A.M. Fog. This 31 year old writes in a way far beyond his years. He must be packing at least 50 years of experience in that 31 year old frame. Whatever the formula is, it works. Coot Wilson wondered if his writing was too esoteric or high brow. I say not at all. It is just intelligent and awe inspiring. My only complaint is the length. Four songs is not nearly enough. That is just a mere tease. I guess the short length gives us something more to look forward to.

Now to the music. The singing and instrumentation are great. They compliment the writing perfectly. There is plenty of grit on 5 A.M. Fog which matches the stories perfectly. They are unpolished rhapsodies that tell sad stories but are delivered beautifully. Idols starts off with a melancholy blues riff and the lines “I died today and nobody cried, I guess I’m used to that by now.” That’s pretty sad indeed. But the mood does pick up and really materializes into a lovely song. The next song, Gambler is about dreaming and it draws parallel to falling in love. Another song on the somewhat sad side, but delivered and written so well that it is hard not to listen to this multiple times.

Don’t Worry is a more upbeat number that sings to a person trying to provide comfort. It is unclear if Wilson is singing to a love or to a friend, but the advice is don’t worry about tomorrow, don’t worry about today. Sage advice from Mr. Wilson. Again the delivery is flawless and backed by powerful writing. The last track, 5 A.M. Fog, is probably my favorite track on the EP. The guitar and singing are sonically pleasing. Again, written by someone who is wise beyond his years. Two thumbs up for 5 A.M. Fog. Mr. Wilson, please give us more. Until then, you can listen to it here and buy it on Itunes here. 

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Made in Texas and it shows. Jesse Dayton plays some serious rockabilly guitar on The Revealer. Well to be honest, he also plays bass, percussion, keys, and backing harmonies. Definitely harkens back to the early days of rock n roll and country with images of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, and The Possum (George Jones). Performed with precision, that style and sound never goes out of date. It sounds as current to me as it would have back in 1960. Dayton’s vocals are twangy and a perfect blend of country and rock n roll. His songs are upbeat and rocking and every one has hit potential. Well maybe not 3 Pecker Goat and I’m At Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed). Not that they aren’t good songs, because they are. I am just not sure that the titles and content are radio friendly. But, Dayton is making music and writing songs that are meaningful to him, not for airplay. I respect that a lot.

His writing style is extremely honest and open. He throws everything out there. Again, much respect for that. Never Started Livin’ is a perfect example:

Lookin’ back on my wild years,

And all I put my folks through,

I could have turned out so much worse,

So I sowed a wild oat or two,

I was the spittin’ image of my old man,

And I charmed the ladies like some fancy Dan,

Still I Never started livin’ ‘til I started lovin’ you.

That’s pretty revealing. I admire Dayton’s honesty and ability to put his life experiences into words and song. He has a real song writing talent. He displays these revealing talents in the opening track as well, Daddy Was A Bad Ass. A biographical tale about his father who was a larger than life figure. He writes about his father gambling to pay his college tuition and quitting smoking cold turkey after 40 years, just like that. He built a good business and then lost everything until he went to Vegas and got his business back. It has a real folk lore feel to it and it is quite catchy. As I stated, every song is good on here. They are all winners. It just dropped on September 16th so you can git yer copy here!