Customer Reviews

My Honky Tonk History

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Travis has one of the best voices in Country Music. Unfortunately, country has gone pop. This record returns to Travis' southern rock roots. There is a little too much let's drink and party on the record but it is such a pleasure to hear him I have to overlook that. The only thing missing from this record is a duet with his old pal Marty Stuart. I would love to hear them together again. Travis is best when doing bluesy ballads and hard southern rock. I'm so sick of pop country that anything from Travis is greatly welcome.

The album opens with a light, popish piano riff...and then a shotgun blast and screaming electric guitars, and the unforgettable line: "Played a Telecaster/Til my fingers bled Bud Lite". If that ain't honky tonk, I don't know what is.

Travis Tritt is a modern-day outlaw. Though this album doesn't at all showcase his superb songwriting skills, it does highlight is voice and rebellious attitude. The rhythms, the lyrics, the style--it's all here, for your listening pleasure.

While there's a lot of fun and games on this album, it does get serious in spots. The song "We've Had It All" (written by Tritt and friend and frequent collaborator Marty Stuart) is genuinely romantic, while the powerful "Circus Leaving Town" harks back to the days of George Jones and Conway Twitty. "I See Me" is a tender, surprisingly un-cliched look at fatherhood, and "What Say You," the hit duet with John Mellencamp, not only preaches political noncomfority and acceptance, but puts a staunch Democrat and a staunch Republican in the same recording booth. I see a message there, somewhere.

MY HONKY TONK HISTORY is a stellar effort from Travis Tritt. Always an over-the-top performer, with a combination of rebellious attitude and genuine sensitivity, Tritt has managed to make yet another memorable album. Hopefully, this one will reinvigorate his career, and keep him going for many more years. Lord knows, he has the talent.

While I have enjoyed most of Travis Tritt's CD's thru the years, this one is one of the best. He sounds like he is having fun with the music again. There is some controversy over the song "The Girls Gone Wild", some people think it is too close to the videos of a similar name. I, for one, don't think so, it's a music artist enjoying what he is doing.

No matter where you go on this CD, you get the feeling that any of the songs could be playing in a honky tonk on any given night. From the opening notes on the first track to the closing notes on the last track, it's a Travis that sounds like he is getting back to what made him a star in the first place. He shows how he has matured in the ballads and that he still knows how to have fun in the rockin' upbeat songs.

One ballad that stands out is the one that Travis and Marty Stuart wrote together "We've Had It All". You can feel the emotions in the song that seems to have been written for their wives. Another song that leaves an impression on you is "I See Me", you can just see a father remembering the things he has done and his son doing the same things.

All in all, I recommend this to all the Travis Tritt fans out there, old and new. If you haven't been a fan of his before, you should be when you finish listening to this CD.

I have been a huge fan of Tritt's since he came out, and he is my favorite country singer, so when I heard that he had a new cd coming out, you knew I'd be there in line to buy it. Well, I did, and it didn't disappoint. He starts off with a hard rocking "Honky-Tonk History", and just takes off from there. My favorite track is "It's all about the money" which tells of true experiences from people cheating insurance companies to get money, and lying politcians just trying to get our vote.

But "I See Me" is a whole lot like "If I Lost You", except he isn't writing it about a vet's daughter who lost her mom, he's writing it about his son. It brings great memories to your eyes. Thinking about the past when you went to church and didn't listen to the priest.

"The Girls Gone Wild" is placed perfectly in Track 3. It's before he starts his ballad's, before "It's All About..." comes back in. (And that video...meowrrrrr...).

I'm not one of those reviewers who rate each song, because honestly and personally I think thats freaking annoying. I don't care what you rate the song, let me here it for myself without any preconcieved notions on it. I let you decide on getting this cd here, I'll highly reccomended it, but I don't rate things.....

Tritt is an artist who's true to himself, and true to his country and true to his family. He shows this in "What Say You" (feat. John Mellencamp). I usually don't like Mellencamp, because him, like John Mayer, I can't stand his voice. But it works with this song.

Gretchen Wilson wrote the second track on this cd, and Tritt gets help from ol' friend Marty Stuart on Track 9.

This cd is better than "Strong Enough" but doesn't sniff "Down the Road I Go," which has "Best of Intentions" (my personal fav. Tritt song on it). Tritt's version of "Can't Tell Me Nothin' " was copied by Tim McGraw, but Tritt's version destroys McGraw's version. Tritt has so much of a better voice than McGraw does, especially in certain songs.

Oh, and he doesn't dress up like a "pretty-boy" like McGraw does. I'm not saying I don't like McGraw, quite the opposite, I do, but Tritt is just one of the greatest of all time, and this cd shows that HE'S HERE TO STAY

This time around, Travis emphasizes his hard-livin' honky-tonkin' side. It's infectious, it's a lot of fun, and - as always -he throws heart and soul into every line. A few times, you might find yourself laughing out loud.

There are bluesy ballads, too. The haunting "Too Far to Turn Around" hints at the impending consequence of a reckless life. "I See Me" is warmly evocative. Unusual for Travis, there's not a single love song. I could do without "What Say You", his duet with Mellencamp, but it's not a deal-breaker.

It may be his radio popularity or his redneck-rock persona, but Travis Tritt is underestimated as an artist. My Honky-Tonk History may seem rough-hewn and rowdy, but repeated listenings reveal layer after layer of satisfying detail. It's fun, it's good music, and it's Travis at his best.

Todays Country Music can be divided into two groups; Marketing Made or Pure Country. Travis Tritt since his breakout in 1990 was then and is now- Pure Country. This album received little airplay and that is due to the "POP" side of Country Music and current marketing to mainstream America. Too bad for America, here is a performer that will knock you out with his soulful voice and pure raw emotion in every song. "Too Far to Turn Around" is Travis Tritt saying that he wants to stop drinking, he wants to do right, just can't. Isn't that what we want to hear? "Honky Tonk History" starts the album with just that; a history of clawing to make it in the music industry and understanding the behavior involved matches the life style and music, but defeats the objective and not caring. "What Say You" a duet with John Mellencamp tells the listener that even though people have core beliefs, Democrat or Republican, deep down their values are the same. "Girls Gone Wild" is solid, but a little too commericalized for my taste. In "I See Me" Travis reflects on past mistakes and reconizes that as his parents were there for his problems, he will be there for his son's as well hoping the bad news will never come. Let me add one last item, Travis Tritt is one of the last big time performers that plays the small venue and for the public lucky enough to be in a 1,000 seat theatre, you will get more then your money's worth. This guy is underrated as a performer and his true musicianship guarentees the best is yet to be heard.

Prime Cuts: We've Had It All, Circus Leaving Town, I See Me

"My Honky Tonk History," Tritt's third outing for Sony Nashville Records, is Tritt's usual modus operandi at peak performance: rousing guitars, booming drums, incessant fiddling all performed in the name of southern rock. Right in the opening lines of the title cut "Honky Tonk History," Tritt patriotically swears allegiance to the rough and rowdy lifestyle: "I got these calluses from all those nights spent playing a Telecaster, `til my fingers led Bud Light." Partnering with country music's most prominent redneck woman, Gretchen Wilson (one of the three writers on this track) on backing vocals, "Too Far Gone to Turn Around" is Tritt's apology for his wild behavior. Yet Wilson is not the only celebrity to find her name inscribed in the sleeve notes, rocker John Mellencamp joins Tritt in the ingratiating "What You Say." "What You Say," a Bruce Springsteen-anthemic stadium rocker, is a homily about standing up for one's beliefs. It is rowdy in its execution yet poignant in its message. And Tritt does stand up for his beliefs: on the bluesy hard rocker "It's All About the Money" (a little reminisce of Tritt's "Bible Belt") Tritt lays out a scalding indictment of politicians and lawyers whose social conscience have been marred by their love for the mighty dollar.

However, I do find the theme of all night partying, wild girls and senseless drinking surfacing a tad too often as in "When Good Ol' Boys Go Bad," Delbert McClinton's "Monkey Around" and "When in Rome." Such repetition somehow erodes the impact of these songs. Current single "Girls Gone Wild" is no exception. Further, one does feel creepy to hear the forty something Tritt drooling over eighteen year old college girls enjoying their spring break in their bikini tops frolicking in the sun (as in "Girls Gone Wild"). Is this a symptom of the male mid-life crisis stepping into the life of Nashville's favorite southern rocker?

Though Tritt is an unapologetic party animal, he does have a sober side. In the past, he has graced us with momentous power ballads such as "Anymore," "Drift off to Dream," "Strong Enough to Be Your Man" amongst many others. This time he returns with his only co-write (with Marty Stuart) "We've Had It All." Packed with emotions, Tritt has never sounded more passionate and sincere on this melodically superior ballad honoring a couple's enduring love for each other. "I See Me," unlike some mawkish paternal songs that had lit up country's radio lines, is a slice of life as a father anxiously anticipates the trials as well as the joys his lad would bring him. The best in the down tempo department has to be Philip Claypool's soul searching "Circus Leaving Town." Not since Tritt's "Anymore" has any of his ballads had such a tear inducing impact. "Circus Leaving Town" is a career record about a girl leaving her uncommitted man because she's "tired of walking tightropes (and) of settin' up and tearin' down." Lines such as "Yes, I'm a circus leaving town. Someday you'll wake up and wonder and your heart will start to pound. And you'll long for the thunder and the kisses of this clown" are just heartbreaking.

All in all, "My Honky Tonk History" is a sturdy effort showcasing a strident Tritt not afraid to speak his mind and have fun. Yet, there are enough introspective moments to warrant a massaging of the heart. Excuse me I've got to put the track "Circus Leaving Town" on repeat.

It takes alot to get me to take a Trace Adkins CD out of my player, but "My Honky Tonk History" did it! From the first track, Travis lets you know this CD will rock - and it does! It's difficult to find a CD where I love every track- but this one is it! From "My Honky Tonk History" to "When in Rome", this album keeps you bopping along. The ballads are beautiful and the "monkey" song makes me laugh out loud. A must have for Travis lovers and all country music lovers.

First, I must admit that Travis Tritt is my favorite artist, so new material is always welcome. New material like this is always welcome from any source.

Normally I prefer Tritt's upbeat work, but the ballad type songs on this CD are exceptional.

I'm proud to say that I am still a member of the "Country Club"!!!!!

What can I say? I love the guy! You know it's Travis from the first note, Waylon re-incarnated but with his own way of doing things. Can't you just hear that talent and drive as you place the disc on the tray. Sit back, close your eyes and let it all flow over you. Magic!