- Justin White
- Happy Days
- By David Pilot
 Somewhere between
Charlie Robison and Chris Knight there's a new storytelling Texan
named Justin White. Well, not that new; if you ever heard Doug
Supernaw sing "Reno" then you've got a feel for what
White brings to the table. He co-wrote that song with Doug and
helped it get to number one as a member of Supernaw's backing
band the Possum Eatin' Cowboys. Now on his own, White's apparently
taken the lessons of the past into consideration and caught a
glimpse of the opportunities the burgeoning new freedom of independent
music offers. His solo debut, Happy Days, serves up a
serious slice of Robison-ana right off the bat; listen to the
opening lines of "If You're Going To Texas" and wonder
whether it's some lost verse from "My Hometown:"
Well it's a long story
How I ended up in Oklahoma
And I'd sure tell you
But I don't wanna bore you
You see I'm out here stranded
And I'm all by myself
And I saw your Texas plates
And thought maybe you could help
Part Robison, part Hangdogs stuck in Indianapolis with a fuel
pump that's deceased, it's a terrific opening cut. What follows
is a mishmash of solid honky-tonkers that probably sound a lot
better live ("Beam Me Up Bartender") and flat-out inspired
tracks overflowing with beautiful guitar work ("West Texas
Town") that paint pictures of wide open spaces the Dixie
Chicks didn't notice when they recorded Susan Gibson's track.
Old Supernaw bandmates Allen Huff (keyboards, accordion),
Kenny King (bass) and Joe DeLeon (percussion) help ensure a tight
musical effort all around, but it's all just window dressing
for some solid songwriting and storytelling from White himself.
"The Little Dance" will make you want to, and "Happy
Days" bears a relation to the Fonz only in the sense that
certain kinds of music can take us to a better place in only
a couple of bars. The key to White's appeal is his ability to
tell a story succinctly and brilliantly, to pick you up off the
couch and put you on a prairie or in a Saturday night crowd with
equal ease. In that sense he's Chris Knight without the death
wish, and the Charlie Robison angle comes in with the rough-hewn
and down home approach that pervades this seven song set of tunes
that Justin either wrote or collaborated with his ex-PEC cohorts
to create. There's an eighth cut, a cover of "Loving County"
that winds up serviceable but not ear-catching; of course, it'd
be tough for anybody to bring that song to life the way Robison
has.
Keep an eye out for this Houston kid. These are songs you're
likely to hum repeatedly, and since he's been to number one before
on the big charts and knows how the game is played, there's every
chance that Justin White is about to do something truly special.
He's most certainly got a feel for a great country song. Say
howdy over at www.justinwhite.net.
Contact David Pilot at: tailgunner-at-rockzilla.net
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