Americana Music Reviews

 

Randy Rogers Band
Like It Used To Be
Down Time Records

by Jud Block

Great, just what I needed. Another new style with which to come to terms. And just when I thought I was finally finding some kind of stability in an ocean populated by waves like alt.-country and emo, along comes something called New Texas Country, and the listing starts all over again. So what is it exactly? The best I can tell, New Texas Country is a sound that incorporates the sensibility and lyricism of traditional country with a rock attitude and slightly less polish than the soft pop that passes for modern country. Bands like Reckless Kelly and Cross Canadian Ragweed have long been the most prominent purveyors of this high-energy honky-tonk movement, but with the release of the Randy Rogers Band's Like It Used To Be, this music's holy trinity may have just been completed.

The band is comprised of Randy Rogers (lead vocals and guitar), Taylor Neese (bass and harmony vocals), Hector Del Toro (drums), Eddie Foster (pedal steel), and Geoff Hill (lead guitar), and it doesn't take long to understand why such revered fellow Texans as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jack Ingram, and Bruce Robison have asked them to share a stage. The musicianship on Like It Used To Be is fun, lively, and, most importantly, tight, and Randy Rogers's dry, raspy baritone has more than a slight resemblance to Willy Braun and Cody Canada.

The first four songs on the disc quickly establish the sound and personality of Mr. Rogers and the boys. An invigorating mix of pedal steel and electric guitars, sing-along choruses, and rhythms that lend themselves equally well to either two-stepping or chair dancing. It's the kind of music, for good or bad, that should have frat boys from El Paso to Ruston, Louisiana standing in line to cheer at misinterpreted lyrics and spill beer on their khakis. But don't let that deter you, this is genuinely good music that can even be enjoyed by those of us who like to believe the few passing moments of maturity we've displayed through the years should be used as landmarks of human evolution. For instance, "Still Be Losing You," is a look at inexperienced love and the obliviousness that usually leads to such a relationship's downfall. It's also an example of the subtle lyrical complexity of the band, which the exuberance of the music can sometimes overshadow.

Tell me what you think I should do
Cause I just can't understand you
Well, I'm about to speak my mind
Even if it's a waste of time

Cause everybody knows I'm to blame
None of your friends even know my name
Even if I tried to be true
If I walked the line, I'd still be losing you

"Tommy Jackson" is a song that shows the Randy Rogers Band isn't all about the good times. It's a dark tale concerning a teenage boy who has an affair with a married woman and ends up granting her a double barrel divorce. Once again, it is a deceptive piece because the music is not moody or disturbing, but some of the lyrics will give you goosebumps.

It didn't matter
Tommy Jackson was running free
Cause the man he killed
Never mattered much to me
There's talk in our town
About where Tommy might run
I wondered if it mattered
He had used my gun

Isn't love a funny thing
With a pistol in your hand
Close your eyes and bow your head
Pray if you can
Well, you sealed your fate
When you picked up that shotgun
Eighteen years of getting older
Now a dead man on the run

One of my favorite songs on the disc was "Copano Bay," which was written by Eddie Foster, and is the only song on the CD not either written or co-written by the band's namesake. It's a pleasant Larry Joe Taylor-like number about never really leaving, emotionally, a place that you love even though you may have to leave it physically.

Wish I were back on Copano Bay
With my sail rig up, soakin' up some rays
Thinkin' back about life on the bay
I'm captain of my memories as my thoughts drift away

In my mind I still feel
The rhythm of the waves
Part of me stayed on Copano Bay
I never left it behind

" Memory" is the song that is receiving the most airplay from the CD, and I immediately understood why - - it has a musical hook similar to The Pretenders's "Back on the Chain Gang." It also tells a story fraught with irony about a guy who's trying to drink himself to conviction.

I go out every night
Up 'til the morning light
Having the time of my life
When I see you out with him
All I can do is grin
Glad it's not me who's missing out

When that sun goes down
You can find me painting the town
Drinking away what used to be
Cause I've got nothing left to prove
And there's nothing left for me to lose
Nothing more to me
Just a memory

But the best track on the CD, you won't find listed. It's called "Full Blown Girl," and it's performed with Adam Carroll, a future Lone Star legend, though I'm not sure if he co-wrote the song or not. It's a clever and absurdly hilarious look at the desperate lengths loneliness will sometimes drive people to as well as the enticements of plastic.

I knew I had to have her
So I sent off in the mail
I saw her picture in that magazine
And when the postman brought her
I thrilled as I blew up
The prettiest plastic girl you've ever seen

I called my new girl Wendy
Wendy blew my mind
Figured that I'd keep her around
Her plug kept her inflated
When I had it in
When I pulled it out
She'd go down

The Randy Rogers Band has quickly established itself as a bellwether in the New Texas Country movement. And if they continue to put out music like this, we'll be hearing about these boys for years to come. If you want to hear where Texas music may just be heading, pick up Like It Used To Be - - it'll give you hope for the future.

To get some of that New Texas Country for yourself, head on over to www.randyrogersband.com.


Contact Jud Block at jud-at-rockzilla.net

 
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