4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shades of Buck, Blasters and Mavericks from Springfield, MO, September 5, 2005
This review is from: Some Kind of Sign (Audio CD)
The fourth CD from this Springfield, MO combo introduces more personnel changes, but with founding guitarist/singer/songwriter Stevie Newman at the helm, the Kings continue to produce some of the finest country and honky-tonk music around. Changes in bass players and guitarists haven't diluted the Kings' twangy roots in '50s rockabilly, '60s Bakersfield country, and South-of-the-Border tinged balladry ala The Mavericks.
Newman doesn't have the operatic voice of Raul Malo, but he sings with the same full-throated conviction on the Tex-Mex shuffle "Pain in My Past." The band plays with the sort of roots-soaked electric fervor of The Blasters on the driving title tune, and swings the honky-tonk on "It's All Over But the Crying." They also unplug for the bluesy acoustic rockabilly of "Don't Want to Do That Again," and dial it down for the western swing weeper "Every Night About This Time" and the murder-ballad "Bridges I've Burned."
The Kings continue to be the most traditional country band on the Springfield scene, and one of the best twang-minded combos in the country. Stevie Newman sticks to the meat-and-potatoes country and honky-tonk that is his forte, but rearticulated with flourishes that keep it fresh. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]
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