CD Odyssey Disc 1325: Hank Williams III

A-ha! I managed to get to three reviews this week after all, thanks to a lot of time spent wandering town yesterday doing Christmas shopping.

Note that I only listened to music between stores and never when actually shopping; Rule #4 was strictly adhered to throughout.

Disc 1325 is… Straight To Hell

Artist: Hank Williams III

Year of Release: 2006

What’s up with the Cover? Three rusty railroad spikes are a harbinger of this record’s rough and abrasive contents. It is also a reminder that the Williams family wasn’t terribly creative when it came to naming the boys in their family.

How I Came to Know It: A coworker introduced me to Hank Williams III back in 2000. When this album came out in 2006 I was already hooked.

How It Stacks Up:  I have six Hank III albums and “Straight to Hell” is the best of the bunch - #1!

Ratings: 4 stars

Hank Williams really doesn’t give a shit if he offends you. If you can live with that reality, then “Straight to Hell” is an amazing – and offensive – collection of hillbilly country music.

After a couple of records that were comparatively tame (for him), on his third effort Hank sheds any remaining sense of propriety to tell you just what he thinks. This is Hank unfiltered and he spits it out in a way that lets you know he enjoys the freedom of it all and is more than happy to bask in the warm glow of our collective reproval. Like C.Thomas Howell in Red Dawn, all that hate just keeps him warm.

The record is a mix of bluegrass and outlaw country, full of songs told in the first person on such topics as Hanks’ enjoyment of liquor, pills and his thoughts on the state of the music industry. How much of this is singing in character and how much of it is Hank veritas? It doesn’t really matter in the end, but if these are characters, it is clear Hank likes speaking in their voice.

Williams’ main obsession on “Straight to Hell” appears to be the state of country music. His synopsis: things aren’t good. Hank III is a traditionalist and doesn’t cotton to the kind of country you’re likely to hear on a Nashville radio station. He appeals to his own country heroes, including Waylon Jennings, George Jones, David Allan Coe, and his grandfather, Hank Williams.

Hank III can be downright sentimental about his idols, recounting getting wasted while listening to their music on “Country Heroes.” He also wants you to know what he doesn’t like, such as these lines from “Not Everybody Likes Us”:

“Well I think I'd rather eat the barrel,

Of a double-barrel loaded shotgun,

Than to hear that shit they call pop-country music,

On ninety-eight-point-one.

Just so you know, so it's it's set in stone,

Kid Rock don't come from where I come from.

Yeah, it's true, he's a Yank, he ain't no son of Hank.

And if you thought so, god-damn you're fucking dumb.”

So we can assume Kid Rock will not be getting a Christmas card from Hank anytime soon. And Hank III’s not getting an invite to an award’s show any time soon either. The liner notes of “Straight to Hell” take direct shots at both the CMAs and the Grand Ole Opry as well. Hank’s got a lot of anger in him, but at least you know where he stands.

If it were just a bunch of angry opinions, “Straight to Hell” wouldn’t amount to much, but Hank III backs up his tough words with first-rate songwriting and a collection of some damned talented musicians. The band plays slow moseys and furious up-tempo tracks with equal brilliance. Hank’s visceral drawl staggers across the top of it all with the grace and balance of an experienced drunk. He is always right in the pocket, and right on pitch. It only seems sloppy.

All of what I just described is on Disc One, which is close to a five star effort. Unfortunately, Hank III saw fit to include a second disc, which is basically 45 minutes of rambling miscellany. This includes something that sounds like a 78 played on 33 speed, plus train noises, gurgling brooks, children laughing, and rambling answering machine messages. Interspersed through all of this are four or five songs that are OK, but not worth the jungle of noises they’re lost in.

As Hank III himself notes, “not everybody likes us/but we drive some folks wild.” Despite that second disc’s excess you can put me solidly in the latter category. Not to have him over for drinks, mind you; he seems like a bit of a jerk. But safely on my CD player? You bet.

If I were to recommend one Hank III album to hook a new listener, it would be this one. Just know up front that he’s got a lot to say, and that he doesn’t care if he hurts your feelings saying it.

Best tracks: Thrown Out of the Bar, Country Heroes, Low Down, Pills I Took, My Drinkin’ Problem, Crazed Country Rebel, Dick in Dixie, Not Everybody Likes Us

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

CD Odyssey Disc 870: Hank Williams III

Greetings, gentle folk! Today I have the day off, and I plan to spend it doing whatever I want to do. Let’s make the first thing…a music review!

OK, technically the first thing was a coffee. But now…a music review!

Disc 870 is….Risin’ Outlaw

Artist: Hank Williams III

Year of Release: 1999

What’s up with the Cover? A pair of boots. If I saw those boots in a vintage store I would totally want them, until I realized that the left one was held together with duct tape. Then I would totally not want them. If I saw these boots on my car seat (as they appear to be here) I would say “Get your damned boots off the seat, Hank!” A fistfight would ensue, and Hank would win because he is hard core country, and I am just a guy with a blog. As Hank would say, “if the shoe fits wear it, and if the truth hurts bear it.”

How I Came To Know It: I learned about Hank III from a woman named Karen I used to work with at Treasury Board Staff in the Provincial Government back in 2000. This was the album she recommended back then. I’ve only run into her a few times over the past 15 years but “Risin’ Outlaw” has been a constant companion because of her. Thanks, Karen!

How It Stacks Up:  I have six Hank III albums. They all have their charm but I’ll put “Risin’ Outlaw” in at #2.

Ratings: 3 stars

A lot of people tell me they don’t like country music, and on the surface it is easy to see why. The top 40 country music coming out of Nashville for the past twenty years or so is awful. However, it would be a mistake to dismiss all country out of hand. There are amazing acts toiling on the edges of the industry that are making gritty, edgy, thought-provoking music that is 100% country. Hank Williams III is one of these.

“Risin’ Outlaw” is Hank III’s first album, as he began his journey to step out of long shadow cast by his grandfather, and the deep hole dug by his father. It isn’t easy to answer for the legacy of the former or the sins of the latter, but Hank III does a great job of ignoring the noise and staying true to himself.

Hank III clearly wants to create that distance, with “I Don’t Know” starting some classic country twang and opening the album with these lines:

“I might get drunk and rob a bank

Shoot my car if it don’t crank.”

Translation: I am going to do my own thing with this music, and I can’t say where it is going to end up for any of us. He would go on to do outlaw country, death metal and some kind of punk/rock/country mix all its own, so I’d say he lived up to his own hype.

There is an irony here, because all of the tracks on “Risin’ Outlaw” are written by other artists, so while all the honkytonk throwback songs may speak to the type of artist Hank III wants to become, they aren’t him speaking directly to us as he does on his later albums.

Fortunately, the songs chosen suit Hank III’s vibe very well, with themes of heartache, drinkin’, drugs and dangerous women sprinkled liberally through the album. These same themes will be featured on his later works where he clearly has more creative control. The composition of all of the songs is stellar, but I did miss some of the edge and potty-mouthed fare that Hank himself would sing later.

These songs definitely hearken back to Hank senior, and it was refreshing for the sound to return. It reminded me of what Dwight Yoakam was trying to do a few years prior. “What Did Love Ever Do To You” could easily be a Dwight Yoakam song with its mix of rockabilly and traditional country, but for the most part these songs are more Hank senior and less Yoakam.

Because the songs are so traditionally composed, they can sometimes stray into sounding derivative, but they are so good you forgive it and go along for the ride. Also Hank III is the real deal, and puts everything he has into the performance. You can tell that music is important to him, even when the songs are written by someone else.

Also a quick word on the musicians who accompany Hank III, all of whom are excellent. In particular stand-up bass player Jason Brown, who grounds these songs with a playful honky tonk sound that winks at the traditional while infusing the bottom end of the songs that is thoroughly modern.

In some ways, “Risin’ Outlaw” is a guilty pleasure of mine. It isn’t as edgy as any of Hank III albums that came later, and is probably the most produced of the lot. This should make me like it less, but I can’t resist the songs which are cleverly written and expertly played. For some this is as far as you’d want to go into Hank III’s catalogue, for others it serves as a great entry point for the grittier material to follow. I am definitely part of the latter group.

Best tracks:  I Don’t Know, You’re the Reason, If the Shoe Fits, 87 Southbound, Lonesome for You, 

CD Odyssey Disc 668: Various Artists

I’m having a fun weekend; so much fun it feels almost too full.

Case in point – I am scrambling to write this review so I can go watch my beloved Miami Dolphins plan the Oakland Raiders. If this review posts after kick off don’t judge me – I’m taping the game to make sure I don’t miss a single play.

On to the record!

Disc 668 is…. Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska

Artist: Various Artists

Year of Release: 2000

What’s up with the Cover?  An abandoned car on the side of the road offsets a string of power poles stretching into the distance. No grain-yellows of Nebraska are here, just a washed out brown-grey that speaks to the stark loneliness of the Great Plains and the desperate characters that inhabit them on this album.

How I Came To Know It:  I’ve only had this album a few months. I think I was falling down the Youtube rabbit-hole one day and saw the Chrissie Hynde/Adam Seymour version of the title track. A little digging at the local record store unearthed the rest of the album.

How It Stacks Up:  This is a compilation album, so doesn’t really stack up. It does make me wish more classic albums would get this treatment.

Rating: 4 stars

Hearing other artists sing the songs from Springsteen’s “Nebraska” underscores what a masterpiece the original album is. “Badlands” is an exact replica of the original 1982 record, with various artists putting a new spin on each of the songs. I generally prefer the Springsteen originals, although there are many tracks here that equal the original recording. The great thing is you don’t have to choose one over the other – “Badlands” gives you a chance to hear the whole record again with fresh ears.

The original album is filled with the stories of desperate characters doing desperate, often illegal things, as they stumble through a life with a lot of hard turns. Since I haven’t reviewed “Nebraska” yet, I’ll focus on the treatments given the songs, rather than their subject matter.

The album opens with Chrissie Hynde and Adam Seymour covering “Nebraska.” Hynde’s deep and soulful rock voice is the perfect match to this song, and she perfectly captures its sparseness and desperation. An organ echoes throughout, underscoring the emptiness of bad decisions and broken futures. It is one of the album’s standouts.

Folk singer Dar Williams comes through strong as well, covering my favourite song on the original, “Highway Patrolman.” The song is about two brothers – one good and one bad – and I like that Dar doesn’t change the main character’s sex. It doesn’t matter that she is singing a male part. It just gives the song a great storytelling quality.

In fact I was listening to this track right as I arrived at work earlier this week and it inspired me so much that I immediately looked up the chords and printed them out so I could learn it on guitar. I haven’t picked the guitar up in two months, but when I do so next, it will be to learn “Highway Patrolman.”

Hank Williams III is the perfect touch of lowlife twang to give “Atlantic City” a new feel. Hank III’s redneck approach to the song makes the character in the song simultaneously more cocksure and less able to handle the trouble that’s bussing in from out of state to Atlantic City. I had this cover from Hank III’s album “Lovesick, Broke and Driftin’” but that version had a ‘hidden track’ tagged onto the end of it, which is annoying. It is nice to have just the song on its own.

On “Used Cars” Ani DiFranco’s whispered delivery brings out Springsteen’s character of a young child’s first understanding of economic disparity. These are the kids that grow up to the crime sprees on “Nebraska” and DiFranco gives you a front row seat to the innocent kids they start out as in a way the big an manly Springsteen can’t do.

The original “Nebraska” album ends with the relatively optimistic “Reason to Believe” and the cover on “Badlands” by Aimee Mann and Michael Penn is even more upbeat.  My only quibble on this song is wishing Mann took the lead on vocals, rather than providing loose harmony support to Penn. That’s just because I love Aimee Mann’s voice though, not an indictment of Penn’s solid work here.

Instead of ending with “Reason To Believe” the CD has three bonus Springsteen covers off albums other than Nebraska. The best of these is Johnny Cash’s version of “I’m on Fire,” but Raul Malo and the Mavericks version of “Downbound Train” and Damien Jurado and Rose Thomas’ “Wages of Sin” are both excellent as well.

When your original material is five-star quality you’ve already got a leg up, but you also have a lot of pressure to do the work justice. “Badlands” comes through beautifully, providing new takes on one of Springsteen’s great achievements, without losing the core elements of the original that make it such a classic.

Best tracks: Nebraska (Chrissie Hynde), Atlantic City (Hank III), Johnny 99 (Los Lobos),  Highway Patrolman (Dar Williams), Open All Night (Son Volt), Reason to Believe (Aimee Mann/Michael Penn), I’m on Fire (Johnny Cash)

CD Odyssey Disc 275: Hank Williams III

I drove a lot of small trips about town this week, and could've reviewed this album as early as yesterday, but it was fun having it in the car. I also added the "walking with my MP3 player" system to listening to the Odyssey, which will help replace the long car trips I used to have.

Disc 275 is...Damn Right Rebel Proud

Artist: Hank Williams III

Year of Release: 2008

What’s Up With The Cover?: A pretty cool cover - sort of Hank Williams III's coat of arms, if he were to have one. Tattoo art meets the Confederacy? Something like that.

How I Came To Know It: As I noted when I reviewed Hank III back at Disc 200, I found him through an old coworker at Treasury Board Staff. This album is just me buying his latest release.

How It Stacks Up: I judged this album too harshly in my last Hank III review, referring to it as the 'runt of the litter'. I had planned to place it 5th, but I think it is at least the equal of "Risin' Outlaw" so I'll give it a tie for 4th.

Rating: 3 stars.

One thing about a Hank Williams III record, you know what you are going to get. You're going to get some fine country music musicians, playing some serious outlaw country. You're going to get a lot of 'explicit lyrics' and you're going to get Hank III's usual topics back on display.

To recap, these topics are 1) Getting drunk 2) Getting high and 3) Telling People Where to Go. Many songs feature all three.

The best song on the album is firmly in topic #3, "The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand)" which calls out the Opry as a snobbish, exclusive club that keeps certain musicians out of it simply because they live lifestyles that Nashville elites find embarrassing.

In fact, Hank's grandfather, the legend Hank Williams Sr., was banned from the Grand Ole Opry in 1952 because of his alcohol and drug abuse. This continues to be a sore spot for many true country fans (myself included). The Opry uses his image, but has not reinstated his membership.

As ever, Hank doesn't pull his punches on any topic, calling the Opry's current stance "fuckin' bullshit" and then going on to suggest a few improbable sexual positions Opry members might like to consider

When the album isn't rudely calling out country's most enduring institution, it is ranging between defiant songs about embracing a lifestyle of parties and rebellion and morose tracks where the singer actively considers suicide to escape his life of excess.

Because of this dichotomy, Hank III will at times make you want to shout 'yeehaw' to the world, but before too long he'll make you feel guilty for doing so. He is an artist dedicated to living his art, and then unabashedly acknowledging the terrible price being exacted on his health and soul for so doing. In "Stoned & Alone" he sings: "Will you pick up the gun dear, and put me asleep/'Coz I'm sleepin' on misery and she's cuttin' me real deep".

Hank even steps out of his usual topics, and ends the album with an ode to blue collar workers called "Workin' Man":

"I woke up this mornin', kissed my wife goodbye
I pray to God that I'll make it home safe tonight
It's a dangerous job but I take that risk
I'll trade my blood and sweat just to feed my kids"

Hank III is relatively predictable on "Damn Right Rebel Proud", and there is a tendency to dismiss him as a novelty act. This would be a mistake, and he weaves some heavy themes through his songs. That they are laced with profanity is an honest expression of the world he inhabits - and he lets us inhabit it through his music, albeit from a safe distance.

Best tracks: The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand), Six Pack of Beer, I Wish I Knew, Candidate for Suicide, Stoned & Alone, Workin' Man

CD Odyssey Disc 200: Hank Williams III

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.