Sunday, November 6, 2016

CD Odyssey Disc 933: Hank Williams III

What’s this? Two music reviews in a single weekend? What about the Dolphins/Jets game? Not to worry, gentle readers, I’m taping that and will get to it as soon as I’m done here.

I had occasion to do a fair bit of walking yesterday, so I was able to get through another album. Later last night, I listened to all my new music, as promised. It was all good, but the standouts were:
  • Tygers of Pan Tang “Wild Cat” (1980) – energetic early heavy metal in the vein of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
  • Warren Zevon “Life’ll Kill Ya (2000) – One of the most underappreciated songwriters, on one of his last albums, still delivering quality.
  • Harpeth Rising “Shifted” (2015) – a folk trio that sounds like a cross between Gogol Bordello and the Wailin’ Jennys. Innovation and folk music don’t always go together, but they do here.
I’m looking forward to reviewing all three of those, but first an album that’s been in my collection for a while.

Disc 933 is….Lovesick, Broke & Driftin’
Artist: Hank Williams III

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? It’s a picture depicting life in a simpler time. That is if you think life was simpler when you had to go outside to a separate building to go to the bathroom.

In this particular example we have a fellow who is doing alright (on a horse) having a conversation with a fellow who is down on his luck (on crutches). I imagine the dialogue goes something like this:

Guy on horse: “How’s walkin’?”
Guy on crutches: “I reckon I’ve had better days at it.”

How I Came To Know It: This was one of two albums recommended to me by a woman named Karen I used to work with (the other being “Risin’ Outlaw” which I reviewed back at Disc 870). Thanks again, Karen!

How It Stacks Up:  I have six Hank III albums, and looking back at previous reviews I can see I fluctuate quite a bit on how I feel about each one on any given day. Today I put “Lovesick, Broke & Drinkin’” in the middle of the pack, at #3.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

After doing a record of songs mostly written by other people, Hank III’s sophomore effort is almost all original material. The result is a record that is even more steeped in the blues-tinged traditional country of his legendary grandfather, and a bit more edge to the subject matter.

Hank III has inherited Hank Sr.’s talent for writing, as well as the high nasal tone of his voice. The songs are all steeped in southern drawl, and the grit in Hank III’s singing puts dirt under your nails and mud on your boots. These are songs about simple folk scraping out a living amid heartbreak and a heavy dose of alcohol and drugs.

This is best exemplified on the dirge-like “Whiskey, Weed & Women” which sounds like it fell right out of a cattle run in the forties, except for the mention of narcotics. In the song, our character bemoans how the deck was stacked against him:

“I can’t help the way that I am
Because the whiskey, weed and women had the upper hand.”

5 Shots of Whiskey” is a less humorous approach to whiskey, but it is one of the prettiest tunes on the record, with a thoughtful melody that is traditional and creative in equal measure. “Whiskey, Weed & Women” will make you have a chuckle at fell circumstance, but “5 Shots of Whiskey” will just make your heart hurt.

This is a record about hard drinking and hard living. On “Mississippi Mud” Hank III takes his shots “straight out of a jug” and gets “pure drunk.” I guess as opposed to “watered-down” drunk although I’ve never felt terribly pure when I’ve had too much.

“Lovesick, Broke & Driftin’” is so traditional in its emphasis, some listeners might think it is too derivative, but that would be a mistake. There is nothing wrong with taking old forms and writing new songs in that style. Folk musicians do this all the time, and Hank III comes up with songs that are creative musically and lyrically, he just does a lot of it with traditional forms.

Also, for every old-timey song, Hank III throws in a double-time number like “7 Months, 39 Days” or a triple-time number like “Nightime Ramblin’ Man” where his rock-edged soul gets a little exposure.

The record ends with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” which is a solid cover of a classic rock track. Hank does a good job of catching the grit and hopelessness of the original, while making it his own.

My only quibble is that Hank III has done that early oughts crime of ‘hiding’ a song on the same cut. It is not a very good hidden track either, sounding for the first time like Hank is making fun of his own style. Because it is on the same track as “Atlantic City” it comes as a package deal every time. Argh.

Also, while I like songs about gettin’ “pure drunk” as much as the next guy, this record covers that territory with a bit too much regularity. Hank would benefit from exploring some other themes.

These are minor quibbles, though, on a record that has strong musicianship (shout out to the band, here) and strong songwriting, with a fun vibe throughout.


Best tracks: 7 Months 39 Days, Mississippi Mud, Whiskey Weed and Women, 5 Shots of Whiskey

No comments: