Customer Reviews

That Lonesome Song [Vinyl]

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jamey Johnson proves that country can still have a soul with "That Lonesome Song". The instruments and vocals are crisp and clear giving the recording a welcome live feel. The songs are influenced by greats like Waylon, but with songwriting and originality that make them fresh and exciting. "In Color" is an expertly crafted song, one of the best in a long, long time. No cookie-cutter, manufactured songs in this bunch. I also noticed that Jamey must not be watching today's country stars because he forgot to style his hair and dress like he just jumped out of a boy band. Oh well, guess he'll just have to rely on his music!

This is the real deal. If you like Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash, and Johnny Paycheck then this CD is for you. If you like the Nashville "puppets" like Taylor Swift and all of the other robots swallowing up todays radio then you might want to avoid this one because this is REAL COUNTRY music. There is so much pedal steel guitar on this album that I had to open up a cold beer on the first song! This CD was recorded straight through so it makes you feel like you are in the recording studio with the band. It's unfortunate that Jamey Johnson only gets about a months worth of airplay and then dissappears, but "In Color" is hanging around and the video is being played a lot on CMT, but then they play a Sugarland video and I change the channel. Well I just finished the CD and my twelve pack so excuse me while I hit repeat and open a new case of beer. This CD is too good to put away now!

Jamey Johnson is a study in contrasts. This applies to his entire life, but I won't bother talking about that--just one listen to this album, you'll understand (with phrases like "the high cost of living ain't nothing like the cost of living high," Johnson is more than up-front about who he is and where he comes from). I'm talking strictly about his music. A little song he cro-wrote ("Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," maybe you've heard of it) became a huge smash hit. Same with a tune that won Song of the Year ("Give It Away"). Yet Johnson himself has flown under the radar, despite making two solid albums (three, if you count the version of THAT LONESOME SONG that was distributed solely through his website a year ago). Also, not a single one of his songs is halfway as commercially appealing as "Badonkadonk;" his songs are fiddle-and-steel outlaw tunes, strongly in the vein of Waylon Jennings.

Speaking of Waylon...Johnson channels Waylon here, in a way that is not at all exploitative, and is entirely heartfelt immitation. After all, the two songs Johnson didn't write are Waylon covers; and try listening to the title track and not think of Waylon's baritone gracing it. Johnson also owes a lot to the other greats--Kristofferson, Jones, Haggard, Cash, Coe, Paycheck, etc.--yet he's firmly his own artist. And I stress that last word--"artist." Like the afore-mentioned legends, Johnson has taken country music and transformed it into something that is--in my own humble opinion, being a budding songwriter myself, influenced by the same artists Johnson worships--almost timeless. He questions his own morality (as well as mortality, but the former is oh-so-much-more interesting, especially set to a steel guitar), he questions his beliefs, he questions everything...and fails to find many answers, as most of us do. It's tough, at times, listening to music that is so...human.

There are no cliches here. A couple tracks come close--especially "Stars in Alabama"--but Johnson knows how to reign in a tune and keep it down-to-earth. Even the beach song here, "A Place on the Ocean," is far from cliche--Johnson, sitting on the beach, sitting in a "mansion with a view,", bemoans "all that I can think about is you," going on to declare: "I hope I'm sane by the time I'm done." He sings of the pitfalls in life; he sings of the good deeds done poorly. He sings of life--as he's lived it, as others have lived it. Ladies and gentlemen, let me state it bluntly: this is REAL country music. This is no pop/radio child's play; this is the real deal, and that means there'll be some tears and a whole hell of a lot of heartache before you're through. Pick up Jamey Johnson's THAT LONESOME SONG to experience what country music was intended to be.

Absolutely 100% true blue gut-wrenching country music. This is what music (should) be all about regardless of the genre. His first album is great, this one is real. Although the styles are polar opposite, this album puts me in mind of the Dixie Chicks, Long way round album. These people aren't just singing about life anymore - their life is in their songs.

Jamey Johnson is an awesome artist, regardless of what he sings, but in this album his songs come to life in a way that no one can deny. Life has grabbed him by the throat and his songs and voice are filtered through the pain and heartache he obviously has been through and this album is the result. Fantastic and cannot be recommended highly enough

This album is exactly why I love country music and you cannot EVER get better than that.

I'm a diehard Waylon Jennings fan and this CD reminds me so much of his brillance in the 70's that you starting looking at the notes to make sure this is what it says it is.A honest to goodness hard core COUNTRY music CD,in 2008 no less,that will break your heart and move your soul.Jamey,I've forgiven you for "HonkyTonk Badonkadonk".Everybody that misses the good old days needs to go grab this masterpiece right now.

I have not listened to Country Music since leaving small town So Il and moving to Key West. Jamey played our bar a couple of weeks back, and I went home...jaw still open and purchased both his albums.

Don't get me wrong, I used to love Country, and then it started sounding lame, and sounded nothing like the stuff Dad raised us on.

The music Jamey makes is refreshing, and UNDENIABLY country, at least the country that I like.

He is not afraid to air it all out, and he does so in a skilled lyrical fashion. Plus, considering all the stars that come through my work it was nice to learn that aside from being gifted, he's holds a down to earth attitude and is an all around humble human being.

Jamey, I've got a fresh lime margarita (or 4) waiting for you if you ever make it back down to the Sunset Pier. Keep it real brother. Don't let the fame kill your muse.

Johnson's second album took a lot of people by surprise, even those who'd enjoyed his 2006 debut, The Dollar. As engaging as was his first album, particularly for his moving baritone voice, what emerged two years later was a much darker, much deeper songwriter. Despite writing chart-topping hits (including George Strait's "Give It Away" and Trace Adkins' "Ladies Love Country Boys"), Johnson lost both his record deal and his wife, and hard living caught up to him. Retreating to his writer's pen, Johnson poured his pain into this set of songs, initially released independently, and subsequently picked up by Mercury. It's doubtful that an album this hard-core country could have been recorded under the watchful eye of a major label, particularly as a follow-up to a commercially stiff debut. Luckily for listeners, Johnson followed his own road and let the label play catch-up.

The reckoning at the album's core is front and center in the opening song's catch line, "the high cost of living ain't nothing like the cost of living high." Johnson imagines himself in prison, rummaging through the emotional wreckage left in the wake of a wasted, out-of-control life. He lingers over the painful moments, as if they're a cilice worn in repentance, as if to hasten redemption. The music lingers as well, with slow waltzes, instrumental passages verging on country jams, and dripping steel guitar codas that wind down as last gasps of contrition. The recovery sought in this suite (the songs often segue without gaps) is to be found in a crooked line of ups and downs that bounce between the realities of a gritty present and the dreams of a hopeful future. You can hear Johnson writing his way out of the hole he'd dug, working through admission, decision, inventory, amends, awakening and sharing.

By opening and closing each song informally, as if the band is warming up to a groove and searching for definitive endings, Johnson gives the album a compelling, off-the-cuff storytelling device. There have been few country albums - not songs, but albums - in recent years that have this one's thematic focus. Rodney Crowell's recent string of autobiographical albums comes to mind, but few others compare. If Waylon Jennings had ever stopped to doubt his most painful life choices, he might have written an album like this. Allen Reynolds "Dreaming My Dreams," made famous by Jennings, is sung here in a dissipated voice that recasts the song's idle wondering into a quiet prayer for salvation. Johnson was clearly touched by something larger when he wrote this album, finding a route to recovery and having the external awareness to write about it. It's not pretty, but it certainly is breathtaking. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

As noted by another reviewer, there is no "Rebelicious" or "Badonkadonk" on this album. Thank the heavens there isn't. I am specifically looking for country music that is anything BUT that, and this album delivers.

He self-proclaims to be somewhere between Jennings and Jones. I would say that is accurate.

I don't give this a 5 star rating because there is better stuff out there, but this is a high 4.

I love this album. It is a throw-back to old fashion toe-tapping country with solid writing and even more solid vocals. I guess it is not for everyone but I love it. To me, "country" has gone more pop and has largely lost its roots with slick, overly produced music and runway singers that won't be remembered ten years from now. That music certainly is fun but it is good to take a nice side trip to old fashioned country. More power to you Jamey. As for the detractors, we all have different tastes which is what makes the world interesting but there is no need to insult the artist or be mean-spirited just because you don't like the music.

When I first heard "The Lonesome Song" it really reminded me of the old Hank Jr. records from the late 70's and early 80's particularly "New South", and "Habits Old and New". It also reminded me of Waylon's albums "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "Dreaming My Dreams" (which he covered the title track and "The Door is Always Open"). Jamey penned most of the tunes on this album and his lyrics are honest and to the point like his outlaw heroes used to sing about. I was very surprised to see such a twangy traditional country record put out by a big name label in Nashville. You usually have to go to Texas to hear good country music. Most folks have forgetten about the old guys of the past but for those who haven't this album is very refreshing and maybe Jamey Johnson will turn some new fans onto outlaw country.Check this guy out, I didn't know who he was til a few days ago.