We’re not just metal here. Nope. I’ve always had a soft spot for a certain kinda country. Maybe it was the stuff I heard at my grandparent’s house. It wasn’t until the last couple years that I really zeroed in on exactly WHAT I liked when it came to the bluer side of the grass. The style I dig – which of course can be replicated using modern recording techniques – is the country style originating from the 1940s, progressing up until what was called Outlaw Country (the stuff generally credited to Waylon Jennings, Hank Jr., Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and friends starting in the early 1970s). Those outlaws set it down the path that led to the wrong fork in the dirt road (Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and all that shit). So this here mixtape aint any of that rockified outlaw, or otherwise water-chased pop country bullshit.
We’ve got some modern numbers in here, but they’ve got style. So get down off your saddle and crack open a Lone Star long neck beer. Take a (down)load off and enjoy.
Track Listing:
01 - Reverend Horton Heat - Ain't No Saguaro In Texas
02 - Nick 13 - All Alone
03 - Mike Ness - Ballad Of A Lonely Man
04 - Elvis Presley - Blue Moon (Sun Recording)
05 - Elvis Presley - Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Sun Recording)
06 - Bernie Waldon - Bright Lights And Go Go Girls
07 - Nick 13 - Carry My Body Down
08 - Carl Butler - Cash On The Barrelhead
09 - Iron Horse - Creeping Death (Metallica Cover)
10 - Hank Williams III - Devil's Daughter
11 - Benny Barnes - Diesel Smoke
12 - Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Distant Land To Roam
13 - Waylon Jennings - Dukes Of Hazzard Theme
14 - The Mavericks - Foolish Heart
15 - Johnny Cash - (Ghost) Riders In The Sky
16 - Ray Price - Go Away
17 - Hank Williams - Happy Roving Cowboy [Overlaid 8X]
18 - Hayseed Dixie - Hell's Bells (AC-DC Cover)
19 - Nancy Sinatra - How Does That Grab You, Darlin'
20 - Ferlin Husky - I'll Sail My Ship Alone
21 - Deke Dickerson - I'm Lonesome
22 - Buck Owens - I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
23 - Marcie Dickerson - I Want To Be A Truckdrivers Sweetheart
24 - Tiger Army - In The Orchard
25 - Joaquin Phoenix - It Ain't Me Babe [With Reese Witherspoon]
26 - Johnny Paycheck - Jukebox Charlie
27 - Mike Ness - Let The Jukebox Keep On Playing
28 - Hank Williams - Lost Highway
29 - Jim Oertling - Louisiana Gambler
30 - Willie Nelson - Make Way For A Better Man
31 - Johnny Cash - Mean Eyed Cat
32 - Crooked Cowboy & The Freshwater Indians - Midnight Run
33 - Hank Williams III - Mississippi Mud
34 - Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs - New York City's Killing Me
35 - Johnny Horton - North To Alaska
36 - Tiger Army - Outlaw Heart
37 - Carl Perkins - Put Your Cat Clothes On
38 - Hank Williams III - Rebel Within
39 - Waylon Jennings - Six Strings Away
40 - Dwight Yoakum - Slingblade Jam
41 - Charlie Feathers - That Certain Female
42 - Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight
43 - Tiger Army - Where The Moss Slowly Grows
44 - The Carlisles - Woman Driver
45 - Ray Price - Your Old Love Letters
Liner Notes:
- Nick 13 - All Alone: off the new solo debut of Tiger Army's singer/songwriter/guitarist; By FAR the best song on the album. A ten.
- Carl Butler – Cash On The Barrelhead: A “fuzzy” song that epitomizes the style I love.
- Ray Price – Go Away: fucking love this song. The guitar is so cleanly awesome. A true country crooner.
- Marcie Dickerson – Truck Driver’s Sweetheart: yep, yodeling. Embrace it.
- Tiger Army – In The Orchard: gun to my head and you say pick ONE song as your all-time favorite of any genre, any band. This is the song I pick in a blastbeat.
- Johnny Paycheck – Jukebox Charlie: a drinking your sorrows away standard; spot on to the music style I want in my country; look up the album cover. It’s frame-worthy.
- Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs - New York City's Killing Me: I’ll say it again. God damn this song is so awesome.
- Dwight Yoakum - Slingblade Jam: from the movie. Not the soundtrack, the movie. My rip.
- Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight: voice of an angel – clipped far too young at age 30 in a plane crash.
- The Carlisles - Woman Driver: here’s an oldie. The lyrics surely date the song. Fucking hilarious. But I love how the singer packs so much raw emotion into each of the chorus parts.
- Ray Price – Your Old Love Letters: okay, this is near the end of his career. He may sound a bit like your grandpa here – but he’s still got the smooth pipes. Golden.