This page is part of an opinionated overview of "alt.country" music, with record reviews by me, Joe Sixpack... Naturally, it's a work in progress, and quite incomplete, so your comments and suggestions are welcome.
This is the first page covering the letter "D"
The Dave & Deke Combo - see artist discography
Jon Christopher Davis "John Christopher Davis" (Palo Duro, 2006)
Twangy Texas country-rock with a heavy debt to early Steve Earle... The themes are familiar, as are the riffs, but if you're into the style, this guy sounds fine. The outlaw novelty tune, "Lone Star Attitude," was a standout for me, but I'm a sucker for that kinda stuff. Strong set of all-original material.
Ronnie Dawson "Just Rockin' And Rollin' " (Upstart, 1996)
A great record, mixing thumping, powerful rockabilly with a killer hard-country sensibility, kinda like a mix of Joe Ely, Link Wray and Chuck Berry. Great production -- very muscular and loud, but in a very, very good way! And what a cool set of new, original tunes...! Highly recommended.
Ronnie Dawson "More Bad Habits" (Yep Roc, 1999)
A somewhat softer album, but still purty darn good. What can ya say? Dawson was the real deal -- a country boy with a rock'n'roll heart.
Jesse Dayton "Raisin' Cain" (Justice, 1995)
Jesse Dayton "Tall Texas Tales" (Bullet, 2000)
I came at Dayton's work backwards, having been wowed by the title track of his Hey Nashvegas album, and then checking this disc out sometime later. It's pretty solid musically, a hard country/retrobilly mix that works well, in a hard-driving kinda way. His lyrics seem a bit forced, though... Not bad or awkward in any way, but stilted in certain ways.... It just feels like he's working too hard at it... It's better when he eases up and relaxes a bit.
Jesse Dayton "Hey, Nashvegas" (Stag, 2002)
The title track really knocked my socks off, with an irresistible honkytonk-meets-rockabilly-powerpop melodic bounce, although the rest of the album seemed more indistinct, in a Butch Hancock-ish cowboy poet kinda way. Definitely worth checking out, though!
Jesse Dayton "Country Soul Brother" (Stag, 2004)
Jesse Dayton "South Austin Sessions" (Stag, 2006)
Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh "Holdin' Our Own & Other Golden Country Duets" (Stag Records, 2007)
A fun, funky set of hard-country duets, done up right by twangster Jesse Dayton and Austinite hillbilly filly Brennen Leigh, a husky voiced cow-gal with an obvious love of old-school country. (In an interview, Ms. Leigh pays allegiance to Melba Montgomery, which gets her plenty of brownie points in my book...!) A couple of the songs come from the George Jones canon, including Leon Payne's "Take Me" and Bobby Braddock's "Something To Brag About," along with a slew of groovy originals co-written by Brennen and Dayton. Highlights include "Let's Run Away," "Everything Looks Good On The Outside" and "Two-Step Program," a punny country novelty song in the classic tradition. Originally a brash, twangy guitar hero, Dayton has come on a little strong on previous albums -- here, he plays with a restraint and thoughtful soulfulness that should make old-schoolers sit up and take notice. This is a nice, classy record, well worth checking out!
Alt.Country Albums - More Letter "D"
