Post by StevePulaski on Jun 5, 2015 14:30:28 GMT -5
All Hat and No Cattle (2013)
By: Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants
By: Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants
Rating: ★★★
Chris Shiflett was never a household name for honkytonk music, so with the creation of his contemporary country band Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants, it's not particularly challenging to detect a hunger inside Shiflett. It's a hunger for reconnection of long-possessed talent, but that hunger often comes with desperation and a willingness to pander to get recognition.
Thankfully, Shiflett finds a way to get the attention he deserves without being too preachy or annoyingly basic with his group's sophomore release All Hat and No Cattle. At an incredibly slim and slender twenty-seven minutes, this ten track romp races past, at almost blink-and-you-miss-it speed, delivering wholesome honkytonk romps and famous covers of famous ditties by the likes of Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings.
In one album, Shiflett dolls out covers to songs like Merle Haggard's short but sweet "Skid Row," emphasizing the shifts in tone and pitch quite nicely, while continuing to liven classics like "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?," the famous country tune that questions whether or not the legend Hank Williams would appreciate the current practices in the genre. The saddest this album gets is a song like "Happy Part of Town," a cover of the Wynn Stewart tune, but even Shiflett and company maintain a positive aura on that song too. Even songs like "Pop a Top" (a cover of the Jim Brown novelty) take on a refreshing life thanks to the cheeky vibes they send.
The album's winner comes in the form of a cover of Dwight Yoakam's "Playboy," about a man known for his tendencies to have various women, but only indulges in those ways to mask his heartache for one particular woman. Shiflett and company really work to make this song a tune of yearning rather than sappiness. There's a beautiful consistency to the vocals here that really come through in the repeated line of "they call me a playboy, but I'm still lonesome for you." The song is a surefire hit for the newly formed band and might even best the original.
Shiflett may lack in variety in terms of finding different tones to try out or more original material to record, but there's no shred of doubt in saying the man understands his genre and knows what its purpose is. Honkytonk music is so visceral and appealing because it's timeless and relatable. Songs about heartbreak, hard work, the strive for happiness and a fulfilling paycheck, and hanging out with your group of local boys are almost universally recognized things in American culture and Shiflett has enough talent to make the songs as much about the sound and feel of each tune than solely the simplistic lyrics on display. The album cover, the sound, the mixing, and everything about All Hat and No Cattle on an aesthetic level feels lifted from a 1950 country album, and despite its short runtime and the fact that it's built around covers, it's anything but a forgettable work.
Recommended tracks (in order): "Playboy," "Skid Row," "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?," "Pop a Top," "Happy Part of Town."