Brewed In Texas
Various Artists
Compadre
Yee haw, this is REAL country! These guys sound more like Hank Williams Sr. and less like those rock and roll wannabees on CMT than anything I’ve heard in years. Best of all, every single song is about drinking, jooking, drinking, and recovering from drinking. Start with a classic steel slide guitar sound of Wayne Hancock’s “Juke Joint Jumpin’.” Sounds just like old Hank, if you recorded him digitally instead of on cheap-ass acetate. Plus, he yodels. You’ll love it. For the next round, visit “Una Mas Cervesa” by Tommy Alverson. Despite it’s drift toward a Jimmy Buffet rhythm, the bad Spanish lesson and heartbreak of hangover and thwarted lust south of the border will get you crying in your beer. Speaking of beer, grab a case of “Old Milwaukee’s Best” by Adam Carroll. It’s cheap but it gets the job done when your fifth wife just ran off with a lesbian and your truck has a flat. I can go on and on about this CD, with it’s blunt humor and genuine sorrows of the workingman. Hayes Carll works just about every brand of distilled spirits into the semi-silly “Quervo’s Gold” by Rusty Weir, and there’s a smattering of stars you’ve heard of like Jerry Jeff Walker, and the titles are over the top: “One Bud Wiser,” “Raise Hell and Drink Beer,” even the “Everclear Song.” Even if you hate C&W, you ought to give this a listen – it’s fun, fast, and unpretentious male bonding and puking. Just stay off that mechanical bull, it’ll bust your hiney so you hurt like a 35-year-old rodeo star.
Brewed In Texas: http://www.brewedintexas.com • Compadre Records: http:// www.compadrerecords.com