Greetings, gentle reader and welcome to the milestone 200th review on the CD Odyssey.
This review is also the first album to be tagged with the "tens" designation. As in, the "2010s". I love that we're in the tens now - like the 1910s, but with more mediums to store music on.
Disc 200 is...Rebel Within
Artist: Hank Williams III
Year of Release: 2010
What’s Up With The Cover?: The album is called, "The Rebel Within" but this would seem to be the rebel without. Hank III is depicted atop a Confederate flag, hiding his face with a kerchief. How...rebellious.
How I Came To Know It: I learned about Hank III first from a coworker of mine when I used to be down at Treasury Board Staff in the Provincial Government back in 2000. This particular album is just the recent release, since I've been buying this stuff ever since.
How It Stacks Up: I have all five of Hank III's albums, this being the latest. His last stuff hasn't been as good as his earlier work, but this isn't the worst. I'd put it 4th.
Rating: 3 stars.
Hank III is the grandson of Hank Williams Senior, who I last reviewed at Disc 32. Unlike his useless father's new country crap, Hank III is the true inheritor of his Grandfather's talents. He even sounds the same, although the songs are original.
Even the topics are the same, mostly revolving around getting drunk and stoned, chasing women and telling folks off. Of course, being a modern artist rather than one from the forties and fifties, let's just say Hank III can be a little more explicit covering these topics. As an example, the title track, "Rebel Within" has a chorus of:
"I'm drunk
And stoned
Let's fuck
'Til dawn"
Crude but effective.
In fact, Hank III has a lot in common with Cypress Hill in that he keeps his subject matter to a minimum. In Hank III's case, he sings principally about 1) Getting drunk 2) Getting high and 3) Telling People Where to Go. He occasionally meanders into what seems like a 4th topic of praising original country music outlaws but this will usually at some point descend into telling someone where to go (country radio, and new country are favourite - and deserving - targets).
The musicianship on this album is excellent - mostly bluegrass with some rock and roll touches that help harden up the edges. Hank III also inherited his grandfather's writing talents, and these songs have a timeless quality that makes you swear you've heard them before, but when you check the liner notes, you'll find Hank III has written all but one of the twelve tracks.
Lyrically, Hank covers the topics noted above, such as the descriptive "Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down" which is about exactly what it says, and not much more or "Drinkin' Ain't Hard to Do" in which he highlights one of his talents - guess what it is?
Generally, I enjoy Hank III's plain talking and angry rants - they are very cathartic and fun in the car as well. "Rebel Within" and "Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down" are particularly kick ass tracks. That said, overall this record's plain talking too often descends into artistic laziness and poor phrasing. Lines are reused without artistic purpose within the same song, and extra syllables are crammed into quatrains where they don't belong. Hank would tell you this is deliberate, but having heard his brilliance on earlier records, I know he is capable of better.
I would say this record is for Hank III completionists only, but it still has his irresistable "I don't give a shit" charm, and is worth a ride if you've got the first three already. (Go ahead and skip 2008's "Damn Right Rebel Proud" - it's the runt of the litter).
Best tracks: Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down, Rebel Within, Lookin' For a Mountain, Drinkin' Ain't Hard To Do.
This review is also the first album to be tagged with the "tens" designation. As in, the "2010s". I love that we're in the tens now - like the 1910s, but with more mediums to store music on.
Disc 200 is...Rebel Within
Artist: Hank Williams IIIYear of Release: 2010
What’s Up With The Cover?: The album is called, "The Rebel Within" but this would seem to be the rebel without. Hank III is depicted atop a Confederate flag, hiding his face with a kerchief. How...rebellious.
How I Came To Know It: I learned about Hank III first from a coworker of mine when I used to be down at Treasury Board Staff in the Provincial Government back in 2000. This particular album is just the recent release, since I've been buying this stuff ever since.
How It Stacks Up: I have all five of Hank III's albums, this being the latest. His last stuff hasn't been as good as his earlier work, but this isn't the worst. I'd put it 4th.
Rating: 3 stars.
Hank III is the grandson of Hank Williams Senior, who I last reviewed at Disc 32. Unlike his useless father's new country crap, Hank III is the true inheritor of his Grandfather's talents. He even sounds the same, although the songs are original.
Even the topics are the same, mostly revolving around getting drunk and stoned, chasing women and telling folks off. Of course, being a modern artist rather than one from the forties and fifties, let's just say Hank III can be a little more explicit covering these topics. As an example, the title track, "Rebel Within" has a chorus of:
"I'm drunk
And stoned
Let's fuck
'Til dawn"
Crude but effective.
In fact, Hank III has a lot in common with Cypress Hill in that he keeps his subject matter to a minimum. In Hank III's case, he sings principally about 1) Getting drunk 2) Getting high and 3) Telling People Where to Go. He occasionally meanders into what seems like a 4th topic of praising original country music outlaws but this will usually at some point descend into telling someone where to go (country radio, and new country are favourite - and deserving - targets).
The musicianship on this album is excellent - mostly bluegrass with some rock and roll touches that help harden up the edges. Hank III also inherited his grandfather's writing talents, and these songs have a timeless quality that makes you swear you've heard them before, but when you check the liner notes, you'll find Hank III has written all but one of the twelve tracks.
Lyrically, Hank covers the topics noted above, such as the descriptive "Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down" which is about exactly what it says, and not much more or "Drinkin' Ain't Hard to Do" in which he highlights one of his talents - guess what it is?
Generally, I enjoy Hank III's plain talking and angry rants - they are very cathartic and fun in the car as well. "Rebel Within" and "Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down" are particularly kick ass tracks. That said, overall this record's plain talking too often descends into artistic laziness and poor phrasing. Lines are reused without artistic purpose within the same song, and extra syllables are crammed into quatrains where they don't belong. Hank would tell you this is deliberate, but having heard his brilliance on earlier records, I know he is capable of better.
I would say this record is for Hank III completionists only, but it still has his irresistable "I don't give a shit" charm, and is worth a ride if you've got the first three already. (Go ahead and skip 2008's "Damn Right Rebel Proud" - it's the runt of the litter).
Best tracks: Gettin' Drunk And Fallin' Down, Rebel Within, Lookin' For a Mountain, Drinkin' Ain't Hard To Do.
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