Americana Music Reviews

 

Owen Temple
Right Here and Now
El Paisano Records

by Jud Block

Owen Temple is one of the young Texas singer/songwriters who seems to be on the right track. From a story he tells about his dad buying a truck from a guy who left three 8-track tapes in it that just happened to be Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits, Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits, and Marty Robbins' Greatest Hits, which led to his first musical revelation; to later discovering Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen, and James McMurtry, the base of his musical education as well as his taste is solid to say the least. So when I put on Temple's latest release, Right Here and Now, and judging by the names he cites as influences, I expected to hear outlaw tales of people whose lives were a bit frayed at the edges, but instead found a highly polished collection of songs that, although much more intelligent than the usual fare, wouldn't sound out of place on most of mainstream country radio's playlists.

Right Here and Now is Temple's third release after General Store in 1997 and Passing Through in 1999, and, in all fairness, I have not heard either one of those CDs, so I can't be certain if his sound has changed much, if any, since those releases. It just seems that on this new release he is making a calculated effort to get radio play, which, after all, is the point of making recordings - - getting as many people to hear your music as possible - - so I don't mean that to be taken pejoratively. The 25-year-old also has the endorsement of Greg Trooper, so you know there is no danger of him ever being mistaken for one of Nashville's 34-year-old sensations who actually had a greatest hits collection out before discovering the artistic power of sleeveless shirts and Vaselined-on jeans that led them to next-big-thing status. No, Owen Temple has something to say and the talent to say it.

Owen Temple's voice has more than a slight similarity to Brian Burns', one of the truly great and underappreciated Texas singer/songwriters, but that is where the likeness begins and ends. Temple's songs never really venture into untoward territory or the darkened corner of the bar; instead, his strength seems to lie in philosophical musings. Like on "Little Sweet Loss," where he ruminates upon one of the experiences that is common to all Humanity, eventually.

There's something going on forever in everything around
Connecting everyone, every sight and sound
I can see through a glass darkly but someday face to face
What do I hope to find by the end of this race . . .

People you're passing on the street
They're friends you may never meet
And everybody's paid the cost
Of a little sweet loss

"No Daring is Fatal" is an inspirational song about not being afraid to take chances in love or any other aspect of life. I think this song shows Temple at his most poetic, and is a prime example of the kind of music country radio should be playing but won't, because it doesn't come anywhere near meeting the requirement for using the word "baby" and would cause the average CMT viewer to swallow their tongue through synaptic overload.

We've got one shot at life with no guarantees
We try to build a bridge to what we want to be
Dare to dream and dare to love
Dare to begin what you're thinking of

And our doubts are traitors and they make us lose
What we might win but for the fear to choose
All we can do is give it our best
And try to live life with no regrets

Now Owen Temple is not all elbow patches and goatee stroking, and on my favorite song on the CD, "For Old Times' Sake," he lets his humor rear its head. The song is about hearing from an old lover and the dilemma of whether or not it would be worth seeing her again. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for a twisted phrase.

You called and said let's get together again sometime
You said that lately I'd crossed your mind
It's been awhile since we've spoken
I'm pretty sure the last time our hearts got broken

We had something special once but now it's gone
Our lives intersected then we just moved on
I remember like a dream some beautiful days
Before we woke up and love slipped away

And I'd rather remember us the way it was then
Let's not even try to start things up again
The heat of old emotion would be too hard to take
So let's not meet for old times' sake

Right Here and Now is undeniably the work of an artist who is comfortable with his abilities. Owen Temple is not someone who is struggling to find a voice or a gimmick, he simply makes good, accessible, and smart country music. The kind more people should be listening to.

Go to www.owentemple.com for tour dates, sound clips, and to buy Right Here and Now as well as a few other various and sundry items.


Contact Jud Block at jud-at-rockzilla.net

 
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