The Four Horsemen rode again.
A spiritual successor to the previous post, now with more album reviews. Double points if you recognize who wrote the quote.
When an album gets released after the requisite couple months of anticipation, there is a period of time where the overall conversation in the zeitgeist- peer groups, internet music circles etc.- lasts. It usually stretches at most a year post release. However, in its most intense manner, it starts diminishing after even just a few weeks. Simply by delaying one's choice to listen to the album until a later date, one loses out on a chunk of the overall holistic experience. Now as a contrarian, cutting against nearly everything I said in the past article, I often prefer to avoid the hype and buzz and wait for the dust to settle before engaging with the content. For whatever reason- maybe I'll unpack at a later date- I often prefer listening in relative social solitude sans hype. The following albums are albums that I personally experienced at a different time than the pack. Either I discovered them later or specifically chose to wait for an opportune moment of focus to give them proper attention.
Each of these artists have a trademark theme or characteristic that holds true throughout their music. I aim to trace their journey between their prior album and their recent releases this year. Part of engaging with an artist in the midst of their career arc is how your opinion of them shifts rapidly with each subsequent album release. To try and dwell on the musicality and nitpicks details that generally are the main topic of conversation regarding Grade-A releases would be missing the forest for the trees. That is aside from all of these albums demonstrating the highest degree of musicality and execution in their subgenres.
“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are…..”
Turnpike Troubadours- Relationships.
Charles Wesley Godwin- Personify.
Marty Stewart- Inhabit.
The Panhandlers- Place.
The Turnpike Troubadours- Relationships
Turnpike Troubadours had a tumultuous history. They broke up in 2019. Until this year, their last album had been from 2017. I was not an avid listener of either albums nor Turnpike in 2017. Of course I heard the more famous singles and even some of the deeper cuts, but I personally had not listened to any full album. As I grew to enjoy albums more, turnpike retirement didn't motivate me to try their albums out. I already knew the hits and without the urge of a continuing journey, I didn't invest. In fact, it was only once their triumphant return to music came that I found the motivation to queue up their 2017 record, A Long Way From Your Heart. It was good, as expected. The strengths of Turnpike are well documented, and there wasn’t much surprises, awaiting me after all, I knew probably close to half the songs, and most of it struck me was the overall sense of cohesion that emerged from that record very clearly, although a band, the discussion of Turnpike engages in is clearly based on the lead singer who struggles with relationships. Family relationships, relationships to addiction, relationships with humanity, society as a whole, etc. There is certain sadness that inhabits this record in the inability to properly engage in these relationships. Obviously, this is a simplistic read on the record, but it was the dominant takeaway in 2017; overarching sadness and then the relationship struggles that led to that sad emotional conclusion.
I then queued up their comeback record. At its core, smartly so, it is no different methodologically than their prior work. A fairly traditional country base, augmented with more muscular guitar licks for energy. Overall, it felt like a straightforward cohesive update to Turnpikes discography. It lacked the masterpieces of the prior album like The Housefire, but had more than enough memorable songs to make any fan joyously happy.
However, something about the record just didn't click. I decided to give it another spin in preparation for this piece. Immediately, I realized what it was missing. I think the strength of A Cat In The Rain is specifically that it does not fail in comparison to the prior work. Often when abandoned work is resurrected or a show is brought back from the dead, the new iteration suffers heavily in comparison to the first time around. Often the reason for this is because they get stuck in a noxious cycle of disjointed narratives that don't jive with the collective history of the show, and/or they get stuck with nostalgia bait. The balance of summoning up the connective tissue of the past alongside breaking fresh sod to build further is difficult and it is precisely this component that A Cat In The Rain does so well. Yes, it has that infectious reckless energy and traditional arrangements with a twist that we always loved. Yes, it has that same down home frank attitude wrapped in a soothing mixture of poetry and melody. But also, it advances the discussion that was always implicit in their records.
It is not surprising anyone that a vast amount of the discussion on this project surrounds Evan Felker's life. This is relatively similar to prior albums. The discussions and attitudes within the record have changed because his life has changed. It has been six years! Think about how much has changed in your own life in that span. And yet, you don't feel disjointed when thinking about yourself six years ago. Why? Well, because it's the same person. That's the secret to the new Turnpike record. The ingredients have simmered, but they are still the same fundamentally. Relationships are the key to the project and the band, but the attitude has shifted slightly. A little less anger, a little more forgiveness. A little less snarl, and a little more wisdom. The exact situations triggering the emotional responses in music from that time half a decade ago have tempered and changed. Now new emotional reactions in song have come to the forefront. But they still are not all that different. Just different enough.
Charles Wesley Godwin- Personification
I think I’ve been around since right around the beginning of Godwin’s solo career. Seneca. One of the best records of the 2010s. Oddly enough, I don’t find myself listening to it with any regularity. I think that is in part, because unlike the average artist playing as background music, Godwin is capable of providing me with a transformative and transportative experience. It feels like that will no longer be the case if listened too frequently. As a near autobiographical project, Godwin focused heavily on his family story in Seneca. Naturally, the sound was also rooted in the folk/Americana Appalachian space. The second album, How The Mighty Fall, expanded on both frontiers. If Seneca was rooted in the self, the second project stretched beyond the self. The unique storytelling abilities apparent in the chillingly compelling retold realities of the Godwin family in rural West Virginia were harnessed to tell stories of others. Jesse and The Cranes of Potter are fantastic examples of this ability expanded to new settings. Even with a presumed shift in focus, or at least a growthful adaptation coming on the third album, these skills of identifying and personifying stories, feelings, and happenings wouldn’t be going anywhere. The question was where it would go next.
So was the table set for CWG’s much awaited third album. His strengths continue to grow in his latest project. However a twist emerged. Perhaps a self correction, or just where the muse took him. Family Ties digs deeply into Godwin’s own relationships. In that aspect, it isn’t far different then Seneca. However, unlike then, which was a generally past looking view, Family Ties is broadly future looking. The title track is the starkest example of this, but more importantly when viewed in combination with his cover of Country Roads Take Me Home- the undeniable West Virginia anthem- the album's themes clearly lead up to the closer outro which records this adorable interaction with his young child helping her sing both of those songs. The self, the place, the future. This is the family legacy. This is what Charles Wesley Godwin has been codifying throughout his career. This was the next step. This is what we take with us going forward.
Marty Stuart- Inhabit
Marty is an old name in the world of country music. He is most known for the up-tempo country rock sound that drove his peak commercial success in the 90s. However what some may not know is that he has recently embarked on his most creative era yet whilst being deep into his elder years! In 2017, as a spry 59 year old, he and his band released the Western concept record Way Out West. It was a special project in which Marty Stuart shares his special ability to wholly inhabit and place himself firmly into the sound and culture of the sub genre concept being played.
Although a noted fan of classic country (in literally all ways possible, he even married Connie Smith, a classic country star!), Stuart doesn’t simply aim to ape the subgenres he is inspired by. Instead he lives and breathes all that the subgenre contains and creatively merges his own sense of personality to create something that is both old and new.
Way Out West takes the idea of the Western with its open spacious habitats and lush sonic atmospherics of the Spaghetti Western soundtrack and puts it into music. The result is a stunning merger of cowboy folk music and contemporary western soundtrack concepts that deeply aligns and connects to that ideal that is “The West”.
This precise concept is exactly what is masterfully crafted in the follow up record, Altitude. This album also looks out west, but not to the plains of Montana or the deserts of Arizona. Instead the inspiration is found in the coast of California, from the 1970s sounds of Gram Parsons, The Byrds, and The Eagles and manages to enchant that psychedelic country rock with the aplomb it deserves. The band is more than flexible enough for the job of bringing the soundscape to life properly. The commonality between the records, unlike the thematic similarities on the two prior artists, is a commonality of approach. To inhabit the theme, time, and place of the concept for the record, as well as the full throated abandon to which Stuart throws himself into the records. If one were to listen to each project on its own without knowledge of the others, one would surmise that this was a one off passion project similar to a Dierks Bentley bluegrass record. Not uncommonly, an artist has a special connection to one kind of music distinctly different from their typical output. Eventually, this passion culminates in a special record dedicated to that style. In contrast, what makes Stuart so compelling is that he is capable of diving deep into all these various styles with the intensity and passion most can only muster for their special passion projects. The genre and style may be entirely different, but the strength of commitment to the bit and wholesale enthusiasm implicit is the key continuous core.
The Panhandlers- Place
The Panhandlers are a supergroup based out of Texas, formed by a number of well-known Texas names. John Baumann, Josh Abbott, Cleto Cordero, and William Clark Green. These high profile independent Texas artists came together for a 2020 album that I surprisingly didn’t get around to listening to in whole. The number one thing that it brought to the table was a sense of space. Something about Texas is, perhaps derived from possessing the character that comes with being a very large state with an abundance of history and personality, they will always let you know. The Panhandlers are no different, but instead of simply being a ra-ra Texas album similar to early Pat Green hits, it is a nuanced reflection that brings a definitive sense of place and personality to Texas. Texas is almost a character. It is a landscape that breeds people like Panhandle Slim. The evocative writing makes the land come alive. You practically feel the breeze run through your hair and you squint your eyes from the dust kicked up from the long winding roads.
The ensemble works. Each artist brings his own little twist, pulling from their personal style. One has a little bit more rock energy, for another a little bit more folk. The magic continues throughout the second album. It is very much a continuity however, it’s not merely the continuity that makes it stand out. It is also an extension of the ideas. A doubling down on the primacy of place and the emphasis of environment. It cuts against the grain of how we typically view our lives. As individuals, we often overlook the effects of our environment and the elements that it brings to our lives. This countervailing perspective is valuable.
It is not all serious sociological observation however. There is a clear tongue-in-cheek streak that runs thick throughout the record. Wit and good humor crops up in so many places that it almost makes you wonder if the entire project is meant to be taken with a grain of salt. Unsure if it is meant to be reflected in that way, but simply from the idea that this is a reasonable takeaway is proof enough for the concept of the advanced and nuanced songwriting that this eclectic supergroup has assembled.
All of these albums show the similarities and the differences between two steps of an artist's journey. artist. Are there any takeaways?
Firstly, all these albums are fantastic. Really the cream of the crop. Secondly, it says something about the way we live through music. An artist like Johnny Cash has a strongly established reputation even prior to you engaging his music. There may be tweaks to your conceptions, but it won’t change the year to year in the way following a current artist with an uncertain trajectory often will. Yes, going through album by album can somewhat replicate and show you the progression, but that’s an intellectual exercise, not a living exercise. Typically, in such a subjective arena like art, the intellectual side gets discounted. Perhaps that does not always need to be the case. In this instance however, it seems that the experiential living through the trajectory provides a often superior and more whole engagement with the art and the artist. Heavily due to the factors discussed in the previous post, but also due to the uncertainty of the identity and nature of the art and the artist. A picture is being painted in front of you and you have no clue what it will eventually form.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
As always, please leave a comment and you can always reach out via email at todayiheardblog@gmail.com
BTW, the answer is Grantland Rice. Double points if you knew that. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-south-bend-tribune-10-19-24four-hor/36435271/