Customer Reviews

Walk Alone

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

 

 

The BSOJC respect their forebears and it is readily apparent on "Walk Alone." A student of real country music (read not Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, etc.) will soon recognize the myriad influences from Marty Robbins and Johnny Horton to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. These guys honor the country tradition with an album that incorporates the styles that made country music great. "Spanish Eyes" is a great track as is the title song. If you like Alt Country and good, genuine country music, you'll like this band.

Upbeat, fun, definitely country... absolutely an AWESOME Cd to listen to.. especially while driving! A good Cd to listen to when you don't want to hear anything sad or whining. I love it when I discover new bands and they rock this much! :)

It's about time some guys step up and play real country music. I highly recommend this album and I recommend seeing them live even more. Go Bastards!

I just got this CD a couple months ago and can't stop playing it. I also caught their last tour and they rock live! It's nice to know that there are still people around who know what real country music is supposed to sound like. I think Texas Sun, 7 Steps, Trains Gonna Roll and Nowhere Town are the best tracks on the record.

The title here is certinaly misleading; one is likely to read it thinking they're going to find another entry in the new and wonderful world of dark, back-alley, grindout punk/alt country coming out of Chicago and elsewhere these days. But if you're looking for something in the vein of The Blacks or Split Lip Rayfield, you won't find it here. Instead you get well written and well played, if a little uninteresting, modern radio friendly country music without the mawkish and overproduced pop sensibility of the stuff we actually get to hear on the radio. Texas Sun, Memphis Woman, and 440 Horses aren't songs that are going to redefine the genre of modern country, and they aren't going to shed any particularly new light on the world of roots country, but they're still great songs. They ain't Ralph Stanley, they ain't Jon Langford, and they sure as ...ain't Johnny Cash, but they're definitely worth a listen.

this album is simply great from start to finish.great songwriting and excellent musicianship throughout.i felt compelled to write this after reading reviews from others who obviously do not get it.being a fan of true country music for many years,having seen all of the greats ,legends,and relativley unknowns perform,ones such as johnny cash,merle haggard,george jones,dwight yoakam,and dale watson,i can say that bsojc deserves to be counted in that group,after seeing them live recently at fitzgeralds in berwyn,illinois,where they put on one of the best shows i have ever seen(i have seen all types of rock, metal ,and blues shows as well)i can honestly say they are a great live act as well as really great guys to meet and speak with.i reccomend picking up this cd and giving it a real good listen.

... It is so refreshing to hear some country going back to its roots, rather than the mass produced junk that inundates the radio waves these days. The Bastard Sons are responsible for arguably the best "yawlternative" album in recent memory. This is a great cd that should be in any true music fan's collection.

The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash are a band worthy of their great name. Apparently the man in black himself endorses them and after one listen to this cd I can see why. These guys make country with intensity and great musicianship the way Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams used to. Incredible guitar playing too....

I bought this one when it first came out and it's still in my Top 5 Country CD's Alltime almost seven years later.

The key elements it contains that keep it there are a life-weary texture to the lead vocals (Mark Stuart), no string section in evidence, accomplished musicianship, great smokey, big-bellied sound in the guitars, great songs and a very solid sequence from song-to-song.

I can't recall how many road trips I've taken where I've put this baby in, cranked it up LOUD, and forgot to even notice the miles clickin' by. Just a superior road disc by any standard of measurement. The songs are mostly uptempo and have that 'driving' beat and rhythm. It would be hard to listen to this disc in this environment and not be in a good mood when you arrived at your destination.

When you listen in a little deeper to the mix and begin to notice a particular instrument, like pedal steel, you find that these guys honor the Country music they grew up with and probably cut their teeth on when they first started to play. Every instrument sounds true to good, solid Country style of play. Think Vince Gill and maybe Pete Anderson, lead guitarist for Dwight Yoakam, and possibly a little Waylon Jennings in there, too. There's a definite Bluesy undertone to all of it... which I just love.

I sure don't understand any characterization of this music as being Alt-Country. It may have been recorded in a modern studio but it most definitely does not sound at all like what Nashville cranks out today like some form of bad processed cheese. These guys have an original sound that's comfortable on the ears after repeated listenings. This one stands up over time. The themes are traditional and not Alternative in the least. Go figure.

About the time I bought this disc, I also picked up "Full Western Dress" by the Derailers, and it's also best when listened to LOUD. In fact, if you listened to either one of these on a low volume setting, they wouldn't sound near as good.

So check your load one last time, jump in the ol' 18-wheeler, make sure your Thermos is full of strong coffee, shove this disc in, check your mirrors, put 'er in gear and head on down life's busy highway... at least you won't have to worry about having good music to travel by.

(NOTE: the band is now working under the name of 'Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons' - samples from their new disc [full songs on MySpace] sound pretty good.)

Of the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash albums I've listened to, this one is the best. I really like this album, and have been disappointed that it seems like it's all been downhill from here.