Hi, there! This page is part of an opinionated guide to what I call "hard country" music -- the real stuff -- with a bunch of record reviews and recommendations by me, Joe Sixpack. Naturally, it's a work in progress, and will hopefully be expanded on quite a bit, as time allows.
Bad Bob & His Good Friends "Bad Bob & His Good Friends" (Self-Released, 2001)
Good-timin' western swing and the local spirit of independent Texas music are alive and well, as heard in this fun album by fiddler and songwriter Bob Rohan. He pays dutiful homage to the spirit of Bob Wills in a rousing version of "Deep In The Heart of Texas," and on his original tune, "When You Play The Fiddle In Texas (You Better Know All The Tunes!)" It was the charm of his original material that caught my attention -- especially on great novelty tunes like "She Took A Blowtorch To My Workbench" and the similarly-themed "Daddy's Pad (When Momma's Mad)," which extols the virtues of sleeping in the cab of your truck when domestic tension looms. Fans of humble, obscuro alt.country greats such as Deadly Earnest, Alvin Crow, Chuck Wagon & The Wheels, or Cornell Hurd will find a lot to celebrate in this album -- this ain't super-slick Nashville pop, it's just a guy with a friendly-sounding voice and a bunch of pals who can pick some nice country music, and it's pretty cool. This is the kind of independently-produced album you used to hear a lot more often; nice to know someone out there still has the magic formula. (As far as I can tell, the only way to get a copy of this album is to contact Bob Rohan directly, at: badbob1026@aol.com.... Tell him I said "howdy!" )
Eldon Baker "...And The Brown County Revelers" (BACM, 2005)
Zippy Southern nostalgia songs, given a jazzy, swingin' update. This CD-R opens on an unfortunate note, with the minstrel-icious, retrograde "Come Along Down To The Old Plantation" (which extols the happy darkies dancing down South... yikes...) but soon moves on to less controversial material. Once you get to the straight-ahead hot country-swing tunes, you'll be won over. There's some sizzling hot, chunky fiddle playing and dazzling acoustic guitar leads, much of it clearly influenced by Django Rinehardt's gypsy jazz style. The gallumphing rhythm and rural repertoire remind me of Wayne Raney's hillbilly boogie recordings -- which came a decade later -- there are also some slower gospel harmony numbers, but mostly this is uptempo and very hip. Most of the recordings come from two session in June, 1938 although about half these tracks were left unissued at the time, due to contractual problems with the radio station they worked for... This is topped off with a few stray singles from '45 and '52 that feature Eldon Baker's brother, singer Wade Baker and guitarist Harry Adams, who were both members of the Revelers band in the 'Thirties... It's great stuff, totally awesome!
Michael Ballew "I Love Texas" (Bear Family, 1992)
Michael Ballew "You Better Hold On" (Bear Family, 1995)
Michael Ballew "Live At Greune Hall" (Bear Family, 1997)
Michael Ballew "Daddy Don't Live In Heaven" (Bear Family, 2000)
Michael Ballew "Rodeo Cool" (Soul Of The Heart, 2001)
Moe Bandy -- see artist profile
Bobby Bare -- see artist profile
Johnny Barfield "Soulful Country Ballads" (Binge Disc/Bronco Buster)
High Sheriff Ricky Barnes - see artist discography
Jeff Bates "Rainbow Man" (RCA, 2003)
Nice one! Mainstream, Top-40 neotrad that opens with a fun Bubbadelic ode to the joys of good ole boy anthems, and Bates doing a pretty good job balancing those low, rumbly George Jones notes with a lighter, growling croon. The songs are pleasantly gimmicky, following the more traditionally-oriented country formulas, mixing Hank Jr.-ish redneck/working man anthems with tough-but-sensitive romantic anthems that recall the best work by Conway Twitty or Alabama. ("Long Slow Kisses" is a bit suspect... who ever heard of a country song where some dude talks about lighting candles in the bedroom. But man, he gets pretty raunchy on "I Wanna Make You Cry," which he promises to do with his masterful lovemaking...) Bates is clearly derivative of innumerable artists, but in a really good way. It's rare that I hear a contemporary commercial country album that I can listen to from end to end without flinching at over half the songs... This one has a pretty good hit ratio, though -- I think it's pretty darn listenable and worth checking out, if you're into old-school rowdiness.
Ray Benson - see Asleep At The Wheel
Big Sandy & The Fly-Rite Boys - see artist discography
