Country Club

The Sadies, John Doe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B001TN1EFW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,973 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

In true honky tonk style, Country Club is the bastard child of a drunken
promise. A post show hang-out between X & the Knitters John Doe
and The Sadies produced the idea to join forces to a make an album of country songs. Both rock n roll and country music are littered with the ghosts of broken promises, but this one was destined to become reality. Timeless sounds abound on Country Club, driven by Doe s gorgeously rough-hewn vocals, the dueling thousand pound chops of the guitar-wielding Good brothers and The Sadies world class rhythm section of Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean. Here,
the Countrypolitan sound of late 1960s Nashville is filtered through the telecaster-based honky tonk of Bakersfield, CA and the results are simply stunning. Classic tunes by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings stand alongside corkers by Tammy
Wynette and Roger Miller, all of them getting unique treatments by Doe and The Sadies. The album also features four originals - three from The Sadies and one courtesy of the timeless pairing of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. On Country Club John Doe and The Sadies find the perfect blend of the reverent and the experimental, resulting in a slightly psychedelic
brew that just might pass for straight if you re not lookin .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes it takes an outsider..., April 14, 2009

By 

DanD - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Country Club (Audio CD)

There's been a trend lately in country music: All of the best country albums have been created by non-country artists. I won't go into what this says about the state of contemporary country music (I could rant all night); I will merely point out that John Doe and The Sadies have crafted a superb country album that is everything country music is supposed to be about: sorrow, heartbreak, and the struggles of the everyman in a world gone crazy.

Granted, they do this mostly through covers. Actually, if there were more original tunes on here, the album might not fare so well (nothing against the songwriting abilities of either artist; the original tunes are all well-written and stand up against the covers). The fact that these are traditional country tunes revisited suggests a merging of old and new that is endearing and, quite simply, "right." The artists cover songs written or made famous by such legends as Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash (not to mention all the other artists who had hit versions of these songs; these are indeed classics). The result is an album--aptly titled COUNTRY CLUB, and we'll ignore the mediocre Travis Tritt hit of the same name--that merges a punk/alternative air with traditional country heartbreak. It's masterful, it's original, and it's a unique way of re-imagining these standard tunes, and is a welcome addition to the collection of anyone who thinks genuine country music has died. Hopefully, COUNTRY CLUB will inspire most of today's country stars to get their butts in gear and start writing/recording songs like they used to--straight from the heart, no chaser.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What The Knitters was to X, this is to The Knitters., May 31, 2009

By 

Snowballthrower (Lake Tahoe) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Country Club (Audio CD)

I have a soft spot for some country music covers. This is interesting. John Doe is Americana. The songs are taken seriously. It's not a parody. These songs are given their due in a heartfelt manner. Might I suggest, if you like this, Robbie Fulks' "13 Hillbilly Giants" is awesome and Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers "Sleepless Nights" is the best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 -- Terrific set of classic country covers from X/Knitters vocalist, July 6, 2009

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Country Club (Audio CD)

John Doe's penchant for country and roots has never been a secret. Though originally pegged as a punk rock singer with X, the acoustic spin-off Knitters and his solo work demonstrated he could sing effectively in quieter settings. Paired here with the Sadies, he capitulates fully to the classic country music that's so clearly influenced him. Best of all, he sings in a relaxed style that unlocks new levels of tone and tempo. The Sadies, for their part, are as tight as the Nashville A-listers who originally cut these tunes behind Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and Bobby Bare. But as easily as they pick the original fiddle-and-steel instrumental "Ping Mountain Rag" and Western-tinged guitar hoedown "The Sudbury Nickel," they also render "The Night Life" with enough atmosphere to suggest the debauchery of "House of the Rising Sun" and add a spacey edge to "'Till I Get it Right."

Doe proves himself not just a compelling singer, but an excellent stylist. He's obviously a fan (and in some cases a student) of the originals, but he's not slavishly devotional. He picks up on Carl Mann's upbeat rockabilly treatment of "Take These Chains From My Heart" (which itself was quite distinct from Hank Williams' and Ray Charles' sorrowful takes), but converts the driving original into a bouncier country beat. His take on "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I" follows Hank Snow's slow original (or even more closely, Jim Reeves' cover) rather than Elvis' upbeat take. This is everything that Doe's fans have waited for over the years: a great set of songs filtered through effortless vocal performances and backed by the encyclopedic and tasteful chops of the Sadies. Like all great covers albums, this one will remind you of the original versions' greatness without sending you scrambling to hear them. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]