1. Elizabeth Cook reaches deep down into her roots in Wildwood, Florida to produce “El Camino”, from her latest Don Was-produced gem Welder. Have you ever been to Wildwood, Florida? Just south of Ocala, the small town might be the plastic lawn chair capital of the world. Cook embraces that, describing a man who might well be the hero of this small town, and her unashamed love for him.
2. The man that picks her up “everyday at the curb/ In his 1972 refurb” lives in a country that you don’t hear about on the radio. Cook’s country isn’t full of chest beating ex-military family farms, but rather folks who go parking after the “Saturday matinee roller derby”, after the dude “slipped a quaalude in my beer”. Confident enough to say that he is “creepy in a perv kinda way” and “right now my hands are in his mullet”, Cook’s character shows the two sides of the Southern woman: one who calls it like she sees it, and can’t help but like what she sees.
3. The same attitude gave her critical acclaim on the title track from 2007’s Balls, which was produced by Rodney Crowell. Buddy Miller and Dwight Yoakam also make appearances on this record, furthering the testament to Cook’s music. She stated in interviews that Don Was discovered her through her friendship with Todd Snider, and that might be an apt comparison: honest, smart, and completely irreverent. The combination of those traits is exactly what makes this song work.
Elizabeth Cook – “El Camino”
Posted: July 23rd, 2010 | 2 Comments »
1. Keith Gattis is one of country music’s best kept secrets. A longtime guitar player for Dwight Yoakam, he also has almost single-handedly kept Charlie Robison’s recent records stocked with great songs. His last release, 2002’s Big City Blues, provided no more than 5 songs for Mr. Robison, though Keith’s versions often trump his more famous friend’s. “Down Again” is one of these, where Gattis’ circular lyrics accurately illustrate a mercurial post-breakup feeling.
2. Beginning and ending his stanzas with the same line, Keith shows how quick the ups and downs can actually happen. He almost plateaus in the second stanza, resolving that “nothing’s changed except you’re gone”, but quickly spirals back into self loathing, commenting that “seems like all I do is wrong”. He also laments the fact that he can’t seem to keep from writing about his lost love, and he might be able to if he could quit writing songs. If there’s one thing he doesn’t lack, it is self awareness, as he seems to be able to simultaneously be in the middle of heartbreak and observe himself from the outside.
3. Gattis’ original, more stripped down version of this song deserves as much attention as Robison’s take, which fits perfectly into his latest record Beautiful Day, a record describing the ups and downs of a divorce. Though this “throwback” is only eight years, Big City Blues is a solid record from front to back, and one that warrants a lot more praise than it has received.
Keith Gattis – Down Again
Posted: January 7th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I recently spoke with Steve Berg, who plays bass for Dallas-based honky-tonk band Eleven Hundred Springs. Their last record, Country Jam, brought a whole new legion of fans to their legendary live shows. Their new record This Crazy Life will be out February 2nd. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
Dwight Yoakam
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.
“I had lost my job at a fast food restaurant right around the time I saw Dwight at the Bluebonnet Palace in San Antonio in 1986. The songs on this record showed a younger dude talking on the old stuff with a punk rock attitude — growing up, I listened to Buck Owens and Bob Wills, but Dwight was blazing his own trail, not just dusting off the classics.”
Asleep at the Wheel
The Very Best
“Asleep at the Wheel never aged out of the music like a lot of western swing bands do — they are still making new music that they can be proud of, even after so long in the business. If they didn’t love it like they do, it would be hard to choke through their schedule, but they have always maintained a high level of integrity to their craft.”
American Graffiti
Original Soundtrack
“This was pivotal for me coming up — Bill Haley, Buddy Holly — that music was so special. Everybody played at once on the records, and they had a real live feel. This kept me fresh while making our upcoming record because after 10 hours of mixing fiddle and steel, I don’t exactly want to listen to Hank Thompson.”
Billy Joe Shaver
Greatest Hits
“I wish I had written “Live Forever“, by Billy Joe Shaver. Not only is it a great song, it would make a great tattoo. When he re-recorded it, someone convinced him to put Big & Rich on the track, and that still didn’t mess it up, it’s just that good.”
Tejas Brothers
s/t
“These guys have been opening shows for us since 2006 or so, and they are making a new record as well, which I can’t wait to hear. They have this Texas Tornados-type sound — upright bass and accordian, and real bluesy guitar. Great energy live. I have heard great records from artists who are real snoozers in concert — to me, the exciting artists are the ones who are able to deliver it live.”
Eleven Hundred Springs – Why You Been Gone So Long?
Posted: December 11th, 2009 | 5 Comments »
