Real Thing

Rodney Hayden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 22, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rosetta Records
• ASIN: B00005YQBQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,847 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sounds more like a legend than a debut!, February 20, 2004

By 

Alison Peveto (Buna, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Real Thing (Audio CD)

Every once in a while, country music is blessed with a great talent who has great passion for the music. Rodney Hayden is one of those rare blessings. The 22-year-old Pleasanton, Texas native has just released his first album and is already being compared to George Strait by many critics. There are a few similarities between Hayden and the legendary Strait. Hayden hails from a small South Texas town just down the road from Strait's home. Hayden also prefers to mix it up in his shows and on his album with some marketable country, some western swing and some tearjerkers that would fit in at the rowdiest honky-tonks. Hayden, like Strait in the late 1970s, has been turned down by the labels in Nashville for being "too country." Hayden's sound has even been compared to a young George Strait and he is honored at the comparison.

Hayden's debut album, The Real Thing, is just that, the real deal, the genuine article. He takes his cues from his western swing and honky-tonk heroes such as Lefty Frizzell, Bob Wills, Merle Haggard and yes, George Strait. His album has been produced by Texas music icon Robert Earl Keen and the album is on Keen's label, Rosetta Records. Hayden wrote or co-wrote nearly every song on the album, with the exception of a couple of outstanding covers. Perhaps the most touching song on the album is the country waltz "December Rose." The song is penned by Hayden himself and is based on a true love story that an elderly man shared with him at one of his first shows. "Trying to Find Myself" is an autobiographical song that Hayden wrote when he first became frustrated about being "too country" for a major record deal. Another self-penned tune entitled "You Don't Talk" has some western swing feeling pumped into it as the young singer croons about a relationship plagued by the ever present lack of communication in relationships. The well-written, fiddle laced, extremely mature song "Heartaches and Highways" is a standout on the album and is perfect for a late night drive on a lonely Texas road. Some of the superb cover songs include a rendition of Billy Joe Shaver's "Black Rose," a countrified, steel guitar vamped version of Tom Waits' "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" and the swinging sad song "Tears Only Run One Way," written by Robbie Fulks. Although Hayden has been all but ignored by radio stations outside of Texas, his work has been praised by critics in Billboard, Country Weekly, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and People Magazine. For Hayden, however, commercial success would only be icing on the cake. He is living his dream, making real country music filled with the cry of the fiddle and moan of the steel guitar. The music he is making is truly "the real thing."

5.0 out of 5 stars the original, & still the best!, June 24, 2010

By 

Ab Uffalo "akira" (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Real Thing (Audio CD)

The great thing about this album is that it is just that - great! Great songs, great vocals, great musicians, & all brought together under the eye of a very talented producer. I bought this album years ago, lent it out (big mistake!) & never got it back. Then when trolling through Amazon's country artists, I came accross it & bought it again (big mistake fixed). There's not a bad number on the album, & Hayden's voice is strong with just the right amount of twang, to do justice to everyone of them. So if you like good, no great, country music, this album is for you - it's a must have. However, (Yeh, I know what you're thinkin' - why does there have to be a however?), when you listen to "Real Thing", & then listen to Hayden's other outings, you'll notice that what he achieved with "Real Thing", he was never able to replicate with them. Sadly, they fall a long way short of "Real Thing". His voice is just as good, but the numbers are very lack-lustre, & the overall productions leave much to be desired. Still, I don't want to get bogged down in them. This review is for "Real Thing", and for Hayden, it was his first, & his best. Still is!