Joe Nichols let me down

Following up on an earlier post, I ordered Joe Nichols' CD, III. I think this may be the first time I've ever ordered a CD without having heard a single song by the artist.

Anyway the timing was perfect as I had to run over to Huntsville last night and that gave me a chance to evaluate Mr. Nichols. First, the song Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off was not a disappointment. Mind you it's not high art, but it is clever and, I thought, well done. As I looked at the liner notes more closely (something you really shouldn't do while driving), though, I became sorely offended. From the little bit I heard about old Joe on the radio, I thought he said something like, "Everyone has a tequila song and this is mine." Well he did not write the song! So it is a good tequila story, but it's not his! Okay that put me in a foul mood.

The mood just got worse as I listened to the rest of the disc. For the most part the songs on III are very uninspired -- he's country and she's not, he's chasing a woman but he doesn't want to, love is fun and it sucks at the same time, etc. The two covers that I was excited about (Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy) and My Old Friend the Blues) are very ordinary. They sound like carbon copies of the originals, with maybe a little mandolin added. It's easy to hear Merle's influence on Joe and there are two songs at the end of the album actually co-written by Joe that show a little promise, but the whole time I was listening to the record I kept wondering, "Why?"

9 of the 11 songs were written by others, so it's obvious he didn't get this record deal based on his songwriting ability. His singing is just sort of average, so it's not his vocal ability. His covers are bland, so it's not that he brings a refreshing new take to old standards. I'm not saying just anyone could have done this record, but I'd say any one of the hundreds of "cowboys" playing the bars in downtown Nashville on a weekend night could have. I just don't see why Joe Nichols was chosen.

The Amazon shipment wasn't a total loss, though, as I ordered another CD -- Ryan Adams' (and The Cardinals, whoever they are) Jacksonville City Nights. With Ryan you never know exactly what you're gonna get, but I think this one's a keeper. Critics say it is his version of a traditional old country album. Though I don't necessarily see that, there is a heavy steel guitar presence on the album. Still, this records beats the pants off III. Just as an example, here are two lyrics (1st is Mr. Nichols, 2nd is Mr. Adams) that caught my ear while listening to each CD:

She likes bein' within' spendin' distance of a mall
Havin' enough bars to make a cell phone call
Put her in a crowd and she's right in her element
Yeah, I'm about as country as she gets

And in the cotton fields by the house where I was born
The leaves burn like effigies of my kin.
And the trains run like snakes through the Pentecostal pines
Filled up with cotton and dime store gin.

Though I can't honestly say I've ever seen gin in a dime store, that just knocked me out. I had to "rewind" and listen to that verse over and over -- something that happened not once with III. Yes, I know these records aren't directly comparable, but III is a perfect example of why I don't listen to (new) country radio anymore. Still, the tequila song is pretty cool and I guess I should thank old Joe for perhaps introducing some folks to classics by Gene Watson and Steve Earle.

Still, I'm really glad III wasn't the only CD I got yesterday. I'd have been pissed.

P.S. Some group called Wildfire is doing a bluegrass version of The Ballad of Forty Dollars right now on the cool station out of NC that I listen to via the net. That's cool.