Customer Reviews

Countrysides

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Folks, I love Cracker. And I love alt-country music, like the recently disappeared Americana channel on DirecTV. Damn them! Why does all the good stuff disappear, while Rap and Easy Listening lives on forever? I dunno.

Nevertheless, while Cracker is being seriously ironic, the music still kicks ass. Especially after four or five drinks. The only reason they don't get five stars for this disk is that they don't have "Okie From Muskogee" on the CD itself, only on the video, and then only part of it. Sorry, guys. It takes "Okie From Muskogee" to get five stars. "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down" and "Up Against The Wall Redneck Mothers" is only worth four stars.

But I loved "It Ain't Gonna Suck Itself" which is probably worth an extra 1/2 star, so we'll give you 4-1/2.

If you're a Cracker fan buy this record. It's got lots of tongue in cheek lyrics, up-tempo catchy tunes and classic Cracker wit. Perhaps the only negative is the length. Nine tracks is short even by old-school standards (I haven't yet watched the Ironic Mullets Quicktime - maybe this makes up for it).

I'm a little confused because aside from the title, this album is no more "country" than anything else Cracker has produced. True, they cover and twist the lyrics around on a couple of country classics like "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers" and "Family Tradition," but the Countrysides renditions don't sound anymore country than say "Sweet Thistle Pie" or "Dixie Babylon" off the Golden Age album.

Buy this album because Cracker is a fantastic, underrated band that more people should enjoy. Just don't expect Hank Williams Jr. to look down with approval when you hit play.

As alt country goes, this is near the top. A forgotten band (by radio and sales standards) doing what they want without a label putting their hands in the pot. In conjunction with "O Cracker Where Art Thou" Cracker has reinvented themselves, with more emphasis on the country/bluegrass side of rock and roll. If David Lowery injected a little more Camper Van experimentation into his songs they could (and well may) find a much larger audience, and become revered for their innovations and longevity.

This album is something a little different for alternative rockers David Lowery and Cracker, a tribute to country music. I bought it for the cover of Ray Wylie Hubbard's Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers. Ironically, it's one of the weakest tracks on the album. There are some real gems here, though, especially the version of Hank Williams Jr's Family Tradition, Haggard's Reasons to Quit, and Lowery's own suggestive ballard Ain't Gonna Suck Itself.

I gave this album 4 stars only because I would reserve 5 stars for such classics as "Blonde on Blonde" or other similarly situated albums. This album isn't "Blonde on Blonde" but it is certainly good. In their past albums Cracker alluded to the secret country band that resided within, but never really explored those tendencies (except for a few songs, usually penned by guitarist Johnny Hickman). This album is the realization of those tendencies in concentrated form. You can tell that Cracker intended this album as a protest album of sorts. As usual David Lowery is pissed; but this time you know who it is he's pissed at: The government ("Duty Free"), pretentious Americanism ("Truckload of Art"), ignorance of the blue collar ("Sinaloa Cowboys"), and most humorously, his record label ("Ain't Gonna Suck Itself"). In fact, the final song itself is worth the price of admission. As opposed to other reviewers, I think Hank Williams (I, II, or III), or Merle Haggard, would be proud of this album.

Well, I'm not a big country music fan. But I'm a big Cracker fan, so I was a little torn with Countrysides. I don't hate country music, but I prefer to listen to other things. This album is country. Very country. Now, I'm not talking "Garth Brooks inspired by KISS and pop music country". I'm talking "Charlie Daniels inspired by hard-drinking country".

So, I'm giving it 4 stars. 3 for the music (my personal taste) and 5 for the band and what they are trying to do. Make an album that's something different from all of the other mindless junk that's coming out these days. Even in the saddest songs on the album ("Sinaloa Cowboys", "The Bottle Let me Down"), you can still tell that the band loves playing. And there is enough classic Cracker sounds ("Duty Free"), CVB-like ironic weirdness ("Truckload of Art"), and the best blow off song ever ("Ain't Gonna Suck Itself").

All in all, if you're a fan of alt-country, country, Cracker, or something a little out of the ordinary, get this album now.

After looking at the track listing,I didn't expect to like this.I've listened many times now,and like it a little more every time.The only thing missing here is Okie from Muskogee,they do a killer version of that live.

I LOVE Cracker, their country sounding stuff most of all. Some of these songs are good, but this lacks a bit of the cleverness of past albums. Don't expect "Lonesome Johnny Blues" quality. I think something happened to these guys before "Forever." Anyway, I would borrow this one first before you buy it. You may love it, but I was a bit sad.

I am a huge fan of Cracker. I love all of their other albums. This album is . . . VERY different from their last album. Check it out if you're a die-hard Cracker fanatic. Hopefully this album was just an experiment and they'll go back to their former selves for the next one.

i always like cracker, especially their first two albums. i really liked this one and would heartily recommend it. i agree with a previous reviewer in that it is kind of country but not too country.