Wayne Scott
This Weary Way
Full Light Records
Most of the best songwriters are “old souls” in younger bodies. Wayne Scott is not what you’d call a youngun; although he could’ve very well written some of these songs when he was. I honestly don’t know when these songs were written, but I do suspect that many of them have been around for a long time. Scott’s influences are pretty clear: Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and several other classic country artists color his style.
I do know that Wayne’s Scott has been at it for a long time, and that his life reads like a country song. He grew up on a Kentucky tobacco farm. He later worked in automobile plants, steel mills and at various other labor jobs. He chased work all over the country to support his family while making time for his love of music by playing honky tonks at night. Now that he is in his seventies and actually has a real album released, he must be wondering why his son Darrell bothered to help make this happen. Well, Mr. Scott, I’ll tell you why he bothered. You see, back when you were hauling your teenage son around to those honky tonks, you probably didn’t know that you were planting a seed whose fruit would feed so many. You gave your son a gift, and you also gave the music-lovers of the world a gift. This is your son’s gift back to you – and to us.
Wayne’s got great support on this recording. Guy Clark, Tim O’Brien, Dirk Powell, Dan Dugmore, Danny Thompson and Kenny Malone are among the supporting musicians, as is the younger Scott. His treatment of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” gives the listener an idea of how closely he’s listened to Johnny Cash do this song. Scott comes really close to channeling the Man in Black on this one. And it is this level of attention that makes this album so impressive.
Wayne Scott: http://www.darrellscott.com/wayneScott.html
