Customer Reviews

Back on the Rail

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is what country music is supposed to sound like.

It's tempting to write about the obvious influences that permeate this recording -- George Jones, Ray Price, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, Hank Sr., the men who were at once pioneers and hitmakers in the country field before Chet Atkins and the "Nashville Sound" turned most of country music into unidentifiable sludge. And that's just on the performance end -- the original songs bring to mind Harlan Howard, Hank Garland, Bill Anderson, Townes Van Zandt.

But to fixate on these influences would be, I think, to overlook the fact that this is a fresh, enthusiastic, emotionally true record that just about anyone who appreciates good music can enjoy. This is music played with real love and passion, crafted not as a museum piece but as something to be enjoyed and danced to and sung along with.

When the CD kicks off with "Living On The Road Again," I defy you to not tap your foot along with it. The stripped-down sound of the Long Gone Daddies suits the material perfectly -- no string sections, no overbearing background choruses, no keyboards, just guitar, drums, and feeling. Arty sings songs like "Driftin' In" and "Back On The Rail" with great emotion and really sell that drowning-my-sorrows vibe; "It Ain't Workin'" and "Jackson Shake" have a good hard-driving sound that's custom made to get everyone in the bar dancing.

This is a great honky-tonk record. I am withholding one star only because I want to hear what their next CD sounds like. Buy it.

WOW! If you are looking for a home grown good time....check out this CD.
My foot was immediately set to tapping once the CD started....and yours will be too on jumping country songs like: "On the Road Again", "Me and My Glass Jaw", "Big Daddy's Rye" and "It Ain't Workin'".

Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddy's took a generous portion of rock-a-billy and mixed it with original solid country lyrics and pickin', and have come up with one great CD. Arty's sound is rooted in old country and bluegrass, with a kick! You can tell by the lyrics that he's seen his share of honky tonks and hard work. His singing is genuine and let's you know how much he enjoys the music.

When I listened to the CD the first time, the cover tune "Back On the Rail" instantly became my favorite, followed closely by "Me and My Glass Jaw". (I'd like to hear the story behind this one!)

This CD immediately found a prominent place in my truck and on my computer.

Having recently bought and loved Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys' CD BAR OF GOLD, I bought BACK ON THE RAIL, and it's also terrific. BACK ON THE RAIL is much the same kind of honky tonk CD as BAR OF GOLD and features great rock and roll ("Jackson Shake", "It Ain't Working", "Big Daddy's Rye"), two wonderful shuffles ("Me and My Glass Jaw", "Drifting In"), and basic crying country, the best of which is "Back on the Rail". In addition this CD has two very nice folk songs, "I Left Highlandtown" (which is really folk in sound only - the lyrics are pure country) and the beautiful "Tammerlane".
As on BAR OF GOLD, the songs are so honest, so personal, so imaginative - so good - that they will appeal to anyone with a taste for this type of music. The playing is very good, though I like it a little better on BAR OF GOLD due to Jack O'Dell's drumming, and even more so, to the fact that Arty Hill is the lead guitar on that one. The lead on BACK ON THE RAIL, Dave Chappell, is certainly good, but I just prefer Hill's playing and taste. Hill's singing is also very good and it fits perfectly with his songs.
I like the BAR OF GOLD CD slightly better than BACK ON THE RAIL, but only by a small margin. This CD is outstanding and I highly recommend it.

As a consumer note, there are 2008 and 2009 versions of BACK ON THE RAIL and the only difference I can see is that the 2009 CD contains an extra song, "When the Sparks Come Falling Down".

Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys deftly demonstrate how good roots music can be when it is done simply. Aided in no small part by electric guitarist Dave Chappell and drummer Craig Stevens, Hill crafted a 12-song set of original songs - he wrote 11 of them - that express authentic country heartache and hard-drinkin' good times with modern leaning lyrics and `60s country rhythms.
The rest of the review is at the Country Standard Time web site: [...]