KMAG YOYO (& other American stories)

Hayes Carll | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B004BSWC0I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,071 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #75 in Music > Rock > Country Rock
  • #89 in Music > Country > Today's Country

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

"I wanted to challenge myself musically," says Carll, "and see if I could capture that live dynamic. A lot of the songs came with the music first, with the music calling the lyrics."

"We had a little bit of swagger going in, which was part of what I wanted to capture," said Carll about the album, "we'd been out on the road for a couple years and were sounding good together. Combining that with some timely songs, I think we came up with something special."

Product Description

Hayes Carll hasn't been resting on his laurels since topping critics polls and winning awards for his 2008 album, Trouble in Mind. Instead, he's been on the road nearly nonstop with his band, "The Poor Choices" blasting through honky tonks and rock clubs across the U.S. and beyond. Along the way, he's been inspired to write a crop of new tunes that the acclaimed songwriter says are "a layman's take on our country - a snapshot of America in some small way." The result: the sharply drawn collection KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories), his second release from Lost Highway. KMAG YOYO is pronounced "kay-mag, yo-yo."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Godfather of Soul reference! Really?, February 22, 2011

By 

TxAzCwby (Vail, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) (Audio CD)

I just ripped KMAG YOYO and now my computer is drunker than ever! I fear for Hayes, at this pace he is destined to be the stuff of legend. I cannot recall a new artist pouring so much of themselves into their career. He's leaving his soul on the paper folks....

Kudos to HC for grabbing Corb Lund for some fun on this project. Those of you getting turned to Hayes by some Hollywood movie: Go back & digest his previous, Trouble In Mind, & you'll have a deeper appreciation for this album and his approach. This is not the "Texas sound"; this kicks it in the ass for hours and leaves it wimpering in the corner.

As for the title track on this one, FANTABULOUS! Hayes is whiter and taller than James Brown, but just as much swagger. Rock on, brother, rock the eff on!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Better Than I Expected!!!!!, March 16, 2011

By 

CowpieKewpie "CowpieKewpie" (Youngstown, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) (Audio CD)

I can't stop listening to this!!!! An excellent mix of contemporary and traditional country. I can definitely hear a Merle Haggard influence on this album. The campy duet "Another Like You" (featuring Cary Ann Hearst) gives this album a unique twist. Fabulous!!!! A MUST have for Hayes Carll fans!!!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subterranean Honky Tonk Blues, February 21, 2011

By 

finalharvest - See all my reviews

This review is from: KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) (Audio CD)

Hayes Carll has discovered America, wait, make that Americana: On none of his three previous albums (not even on the heavily country influenced "Flowers And Liquor") has the alt.country singer/songwriter dug so deep into the vein of traditional American music while commenting on the US in the 21st century.
On KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) there's a lot of honky-tonkin' and stompin' and hollerin' (as on the first track "Stomp and Holler" and on the title track, both sounding like a bastard called Subterranean Honky Tonk Blues, or on "The Lovin' Cup"), some country swing ("Hard Out Here", "Another Like You") and some finger-picking ballads ("The Letter").
Unlike on "Trouble in Mind", on which the rockers at the beginning were the best songs, the strength of "KMAG YOYO" lies in the slower tunes towards the end: "Bottle in My Hand" (with Hayes Carll, Todd Snider and Corb Lund taking turns singing), "Bye Bye Baby" (with not much more accompaniment than a banjo and a pedal steel guitar), "Hide Me" (with a beautiful gospel hum in the background). Those three plus the laid-back tap-your-feet-clap-your-hands-nod-your-head-sing-along "Grand Parade" are among Hayes Carll's best songs.
There's a lot of great artists releasing new CDs this winter/spring: The Low Anthem, Lucinda Williams, Drive-By Truckers, Todd Snider (even if it's just a live album, no new stuff), Steve Earle, Cary Hudson, Jason Isbell. But I'll bet you: KMAG YOYO will be on a lot of year's end lists!