Bruce Robison – “Heartache to Houston”

1. When Bruce Robison’s last full length The New World was released, he commented that roots music should sound different than the rest of music, by virtue of its name. His latest single “Heartache to Houston”, accomplishes that by sounding refreshingly simple.

2. Lead by Brian Beken’s mandolin, the song finds Robison with “one hand on the wheel/ and one on the wind”, skipping town after a relationship where there is “nothing left worth saving”. Hoping to find some new ground to plow in Houston, he leaves with nothing save “a need to light this fuse”. The song, co-written with Gary Massey and ex-Fastball frontman Miles Zuniga, strips things away to a classic country arrangement, centered around an insistent snare that makes it seem like more of a rave-up than it actually is. Touches of organ and delicate electric guitar light the way, but never in a manner that overpowers the tune.

3. Part of me wishes there was something more to say about this song — maybe a twist at the end, like Robison has been known to write. On second thought, that sort of device would actually negate this song’s strength: simplicity. Robison’s character doesn’t have much of an agenda beyond getting out of town, so he can’t be expected to wax poetic or psychoanalyze the situation. Instead, he drives along to a song that is perfect for someone in his situation: a great melody, a driving beat, and a bit of self-pity, heading for a new horizon. Country music doesn’t need much more.

Bruce Robison – “Heartache to Houston”

Bruce Robison – “The New Me”

1. On “The New Me”, the latest track from Bruce Robison’s slowly-leaking new record From the Top, he leads by announcing that the story takes place in a small town. Bruce has a way of depicting small towns, much like Larry McMurtry does in The Last Picture Show — full of hard feelings, and occasionally unescapable. The characters in this song struggle with situations that would be hard to re-create in a more anonymous big city, though the feelings of separation and moving on are universal.

2. Robison makes a small distinction in the first verse that makes all the difference. Though he says he has seen his old flame around town, all of the details come through a friend — that the new boyfriend “ain’t that bad”, and that the old flame is “so happy now”. By separating himself from the news, he drums up that heart-sinking feeling of being left behind, though he admits that the new love “looks good on you”, before wondering if he “can do it all over again”. Many country songs brag about being able to move on, but Robison touches a vulnerable nerve here, unsure of himself.

3. The chorus finds him rattling off a series of common phrases — “40 is the brand new 30/ and 30 is the new 18″, before hoping out loud that “losing is the brand new winning”, and expressing is fear that the new boyfriend is “the new me”. Rather than expressing anger at the broken relationship or bravado at the new relationship he has found, Robison looks inside and wonders if he is now outdated, and unable to try again.

4. Robison’s strength is in the small details that make the song personal — which he showed off in “Travelin’ Soldier”, perhaps his best known song. The main character of that song heard about her fallen love and retreated under the bleachers to react, which perfectly encapsulated the hidden nature of their relationship. Here in “The New Me”, Robison lays out the feelings of uncertainty that hit especially close to home in a small town, and does so with the nuances that have made him one of his generation’s best writers.

Bruce Robison – The New Me

Throwback Thursday – Rodney Crowell – “Bluebird Wine”

1. I started thinking about Rodney Crowell when writing about his recent collaboration with Bruce Robison. Crowell has had a storied career, running with Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt in Nashville before heading to L.A. to play in Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band, then finding mainstream country success in the 80’s and reinventing himself in this past decade. Though his style has varied over the years, he has a deep catalog of songs that run the gamut from political rants to unabashed love songs. “Bluebird Wine” came early in his career, and was brought more success when Emmylou covered it on her landmark Pieces of the Sky record, though Rodney’s live take from Heartworn Highways better shows the guts of the song.

2. Riding some surprisingly ace finger picking, he tells a story of a new friend who straightened his life out…so that he could better enjoy his precious Bluebird Wine. The irony is not lost here, as Crowell comes in off the highway, puts his money in the bank, and gets rid of worry so that he can cut loose. When he hits the chorus, the song “hits its stride” just like he sings, with an exuberant swagger that mirrors the effects of the precious drink. Crowell returns to the irony by relating that his new friend has taught him the joys of staying in at night and listening to the radio, while “drinking all the Bluebird we can hold”. This slight twist on the idea of turning over a new leaf gives the song an indelible splash of character.

3. Crowell has turned out some great work in recent years, records which his guitarist Will Kimbrough calls “his best“. Though much of his more recent work deals with his disgust with politics, poverty, and other heavy subjects, he has always maintained the ability to write uptempo songs about letting go and having a great time. Great songs are expected from someone with his songwriting pedigree. With “Bluebird Wine”, Crowell shows that he was cranking classic songs out from the beginning, and that these later years are just the icing on the cake.

Rodney Crowell – Bluebird Wine