Customer Reviews

Here Come The Derailers

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After waxing a pair of albums that provided the best Bakersfield Sound thrills this side of Buck Owens' classic 60s recordings, the Derailers branched out with Dave Alvin as producer on 1999's "Full Western Dress." The result suggested the broader influences the band would strive to integrate as their outlook widened. While "Full Western Dress" was a bit forced in spots, with a few style choices fitting less than perfectly, this year's model has no such tailoring snafus.

Working with veteran producer Kyle Lehning (Randy Travis, George Jones, and others), the Derailers neatly mix their Bakersfield base with pop influences that include 60s sounds from Britain to the surf coast of California to Nashville Countrypolitan. The resulting release has the quality and naturalness of their first albums, successfully rendering the wider scope first mapped out on "Full Western Dress."

Standout tracks include the instrumental "Country A Go-Go, " neatly mixing surf and soul instrumentals with country twang, and a stellar, slinky cover of Charlie Rich's "Mohair Sam." Guitarist/vocalist Tony Villaneuva's "My Angel's Gettin' Tired" explores the extended repercussions of the bottle, Jim Lauderdale's "All the Rage in Paris" gives a nostalgic, inside look at regional stardom, and Brian Hofeldt borrows Roy Orbison's dramatic sound for his original composition, "I See My Baby."

Some may wish the Derailers would simply repeat their Bakersfield sounds indefinitely, but the band obviously has bigger plans, and the artistic vision to back it up. Happily, even as their stylistic range expands, the heart and soul of their music remains intact.

The Derailers(Tony Villanueva, Brian Hofeldt, Ed Adkins & Mark Horn) are my favorite band and it distresses me to a degree that this is the first introduction many people will hear of them with this CD, their first release on Lucky Dog, a division of Sony. Instead of being produced by Dave Alvin, this CD was produced by Kyle Lehning of Randy Travis fame and the results are quite dissapointing in spots. Lehning obiviously tried to change The Derailers into something commercial in some subtle and not so subtle ways, and it took away greatly from what makes The Derailers the best retro/country/rockabilly band anywhere. There are some good songs on the CD such as the honky tonkin "Bar Exam, the Poignant "You know what she's like" and a bit of classic Derailer style fun pokes thru on "Your guess is as good as mine". The CD has more than it's share of filler and ideas that don't just quite work like the heavily Roy Orbison influenced "I see my baby", and a poor remake of Charlie Rich' "Mohair Sam". "Country a go-go" is a cool instrumental. The guys are singing and playing better than ever here, and they are the best live band i've ever seen bar none dymanics wise. There are several Jim Lauderdale penned tunes here, which is cool, but a few more written by The Derailers would have been nice. By the way Lauderdales newest CD, The Other Sessions, is head and shoulders about this offering. The Nashville BS machine was in full force here, and while it's yet to ruin The Derailers, it certianly hampered them quite a bit on this CD. I strongly suggest that anyone interested in The Derailers check out their earlier CD's such as "Jackpot", "Reverb Deluxe", and even the all over the musicial map "Full Western Dress", and save your money for "Here come the Derailers" for after you become hooked on them. Bottom line, not a bad CD, but could have been alot better. I'd compare it to eating a delicious steak dinner prepared by a master chef in a dining room full of screaming kids. The screaming kids in this case being the clueless Nashville music row brigade who hates country music and will supress and even kill it every chance they get. Mr. Tradition

(...) The Derailers are one of the most fun bands to see live that I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of shows in my 35 years). Their CDs are solidly good, this one being no exception. If you want serious, soul-searching singer-songwriter music, you have plenty of other places to go. But if you want genuinely fun music - played fabulously well (Hofeldt is a killer guitar player) and delivered with a ton of heart and soul -- the Derailers is the band for you. The music is nostalgic and draws from many obvious twangy influences. Yet it is original and modern and no kind of copy. Do not miss the chance to see them live if/when they come to your town.

I was eagerly anticipating the release of the bands new album, but was disappointed when it did not meet my high expectations.
The Derailers are without a doubt one of the most talented bands anyone can see and hear. Their live shows are a blast to be a part of and they always seemed to capture that energy on their studio albums.However, this album does have that spirit . I really can't believe the band let it be overproduced by some mucky-muck who doesn't know crap. Try Reverb Deluxe, Jackpot, or Full Western Dress before you buy this one.

I first discovered the Derailers at South-by-Southwest in 1996, just as "Jackpot" was being released. I've followed Brian Hofeldt and Tony Villanueva -- the two founding and constant members -- since then.

This is, without a doubt, the best pure band in country music. And this is their best disc. "Bar Exam" could've been written by Lefty Frizzell. "All the Rage in Paris" is nostalgic lament that Bob Wills would be proud of.

PLEASE, COUNTRY RADIO, WAKE UP! Dump Shania and put these guys on!

I am not a country western fan by any stretch. Heard them on NPR interview and bought the CD. I was not disappointed. They called themselves "the country band for people who don't like country music." I think they are just great musicians doing some real make you get up and dance music.

This is a foot tapping, gotta get up and dance kinda disc. I just saw these guys live and they put on a great show. The audience wouldn't let them leave. They get better with every album.

An absolute travesty. By the time this record came out, the band seemed more interested in pushing "The Derailers" as a brand rather than the remarkable band they once were. Nashville production pushes the guitar to the bottom of the mix and hired guns write most of the material. It sounds to me like the band was trying to "make it" as some kind of Mavericks-type group, but in the process they destroyed what made them special.

Stick with "Jackpot" or "Reverb Deluxe."

If you believe country music started with Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney, move on to something else now.

If, on the other hand, you understand the sounds, moods and roots of country and western music, this is the group you've been waiting for since Garth, et al, 'pop'-ularized the country charts. The inheritors of the legacy of Hank, George Jones and a host of others have arrived; they are The Derailers.

I count myself as a Derailers fan because I love "Jackpot" and really enjoy "Reverb Deluxe". I like old-style country tunes with lyrics that take a little bit of thought to put together and maybe take a little to catch the meaning. But this record and the Derailers' last one contain so many obvious, banal tunes that I can barely stand to listen to them. With so many lines you can see coming from a mile away, it takes all the fun out of listening. For the record I realize that they didn't pen them all, and to their credit they don't fill their albums with covers of stuff like "Hello Walls". But I know enough Nashville songwriters to know that there is much better material available. On a high note, those Telecasters have never sounded better!