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| KEXP programs an innovative, eclectic music mix you can’t find anywhere else. Rock, hip hop, electronic, country, blues, world and in-depth specialty programs. |
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KEXP's looking for some of you to join our team! We're seeking music lovers that are interested in learning about radio and participating in Seattle's vibrant music scene. Current internship openings are in programming, marketing and development. Must be a self-starter and a good communicator. If you love the station and are qualified to help, we want to hear from you! Help us build the future of our station! Learn more and apply now.
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Don Slack : Swingin' Doors, Thurs. 6-9PM
Alternative country, honky tonk, western swing, bluegrass and other kinds
of hardcore twang
Well, Mr. Slack has been here since 1997
Music Director
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Enjoy a wide variety of music, but have a special place in my heart for country.
Love keeping up on what's happening in the music world while also learning as much
as I can about the great music of the past. |
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Shelby Lynne - Suit Yourself) (Capitol)
This headstrong Alabama singer is back with her strongest album since her 2000 artistic breakthrough I Am Shelby Lynne. Suit Yourself is Shelby doing what she does best, effortlessly blending soul, country, blues, folk and pop.
Like her previous release Identity Crisis, Suit Yourself is a loose, informal affair with some false starts, studio chatter, a few flubbed notes and a whole lot of soul. The songs sometimes end abruptly or just trail off – in some ways, the album sounds like a demo recording. In lesser hands, this kind of casual approach often leads to a self-indulgent mess, but Suit Yourself is remarkably cohesive, thanks to some first-rate songs, stellar accompaniment and a masterful, slyly subtle singer who doesn’t equate soul with over-singing.
Shelby contributed 10 of the album’s 12 songs, and nearly all of them hit the emotional bulls-eye, even when they occasionally don’t sound fully formed. She also nails two Tony Joe White songs, “Old Times Sake” and “Rainy Night in Georgia” (listed here as “Track 12”). White is one of the featured musicians on the album (the impressive supporting cast also includes Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench).
Shelby seems to settling into a comfortable, low-key groove that nicely suits her casual sensibilities, and her latest album is an ideal soundtrack for kicking back on a sultry, Summer day.
Robbie Fulks - Georgia Hard) (Yep Roc)
Robbie Fulks has always been one of the most-talented songwriters working
in the country underground. While his last album of originals (2001's
Couples in Trouble) focused more on adventurous rock and pop, his latest
finds him squarely back in country territory.
Robbie tackles a variety of country styles on Georgia Hard, from honky
tonk shuffles and cheatin' songs to smooth countrypolitan and
sophisticated western swing. Still, the dominant flavor is '70s country,
with a number of Robbie's new songs evoking the likes of Mel Street, Don
Williams and even Johnny Lee with lilting, easygoing rhythms, bittersweet
melodies and well-crafted lyrics with an emphasis on storytelling and
illuminating various moral ambiguities.
Plenty other styles are also explored on Georgia Hard, including the
newgrassy roots-rock of the lead-off song "Where There's a Road," a comic
hillbilly-boogie duet with his wife Donna called "I'm Gonna Take You Home
(and Make You Like Me)," a swampy, sardonic root-rocker ("It's Always
Raining Somewhere") and a haunting, atmospheric murder ballad ("Coldwater,
Tennessee").
As Robbie showed a few years back with "Roots Rock Weirdos," he's happy to
take on the musical prejudices of his own audience, and he does so again
here with "Countrier Than Thou," a hilarious spoof of urban-faux-hillbilly
country purists and the often-arbitrary standards they apply to a diverse
and constantly evolving popular art form (and he also manages to work in a
good dig against the president).
But while it wouldn't be a Robbie Fulks album without some of his sharp
sense of humor, it's the serious stuff that predominates and hits hardest
here. The title song, "You Don't Want What I Have" and "Doin' Right (for
All the Wrong Reasons)" are some of the finest country songs Robbie's ever
written, and many of the others here aren't far behind.
Georgia Hard is not only Robbie's best album yet, it's an often-brilliant
tour-de-force of country music from a master craftsman whose songs can
tickle the funny bone, inspire reflection, stir deep emotions and get
right to the heart of the cold hard truth.
The Wrights - Down This Road) (RCA/ACR)
The Wrights are the husband-and-wife duo of Adam and Shannon Wright.
Their debut album is the first release on the new Nashville subsidiary
ACR, which stands for Alan's Country Records. The Alan in question
happens to be Adam Wright's uncle, Alan Jackson. While some might wonder
if family ties are stronger than talent here, the Wrights previously
showed they could write some damn good country songs by contributing two
of the best on Jackson's last album, and judging by the results of their
debut album, they're also pretty good at making their own records.
Down This Road shares the low-key, neo-traditional sensibility of Jackson,
but they also go their own way in many respects. Adam's modest singing is
respectable though not nearly as resonant as his uncle's. On the other
hand, the evocative twang of Shannon's vocals is captivating, and their
voices blend beautifully, with the duo's harmonies being one of the
highlights of the album. And while country singers often turn to songs
from other folks (or at least co-writers), the Wrights wrote every song
here, with the results ranging from rock-solid to simply sublime country
music.
Their songs are fleshed out by a laid-back country sound with lots of
acoustic instrumentation, though the dominant instruments are Paul
Franklin's gorgeous pedal steel and Pig Robbins' assured piano. Take the
relaxed hard-country sound of Jackson's last album and combine it with the
acoustic-steeped records of the neo-traditional duos of the '80s like the
Judds and the O'Kanes, and you get pretty close to the sound of this
charming, thoroughly country album.
Dallas Wayne - I'm Your Biggest Fan) (Koch)
Dallas Wayne's a hardcore country singer who's been keeping the honky tonk
faith for the past few years. His latest album finds him in peak form
with a brawny blend of barroom honky tonk, western swing and hard country
ballads. While he usually throws in some covers, all the songs on I'm
Your Biggest Fan are originals, and many of them rank with the best songs
Dallas has ever written.
Among the many highlights, there's a cool swamp-country tune ("Downhill
Slide"), a couple honky tonk shuffles ("Crank the Hank," "It's All Over,
All Over Town"), some potent hard-country ballads ("Tell it to the
Jukebox," "She's Good to Go," "Under the Overpass"), and a fun western
swing tune that name-checks one of the great Hee Haw comedians ("Junior
Samples") while lyrically echoing the Bob Wills classic "Roly Poly."
Perhaps best of all is the chilling title song, which tells the story of
an obsessed fan whose devotion to a country singer carries him over the
edge.
Possessing a classic deep country voice, Dallas comes up with the
strongest vocal performances of his career here. While he sounded a
little shaky and tentative on his early albums, he's now singing with
greater confidence and authority, and sounding equally at home expressing
both light-hearted humor and deep hard-country pathos. He's also added
some old-school recitations to his repertoire - his recitation on "I'm
Your Biggest Fan" is scarily convincing, and he nails another one during
the verses of "Tell it to the Jukebox." Dallas Wayne is on his way to
becoming a country music treasure, and I'm Your Biggest Fan is the early
contender for honky tonk album of the year.
John Prine - Fair and Square) (Oh Boy)
John Prine's been laying kinda low for the past decade or so, releasing
only a live album, an album of duets, and a collection of re-recordings of
some of his earlier classics. The lack of new material was
understandable, since during this time he was also battling cancer. He's
now back in good health with his first album of new original material in
10 years, and it's a stunner.
Prine's always had a gift for using seemingly plain language to illuminate
deep truths about relationships and the human condition, and he hits the
bulls-eye time and again here. I'm not going to bother with highlighting
particular songs, since they all range from very good to truly great.
There ain't a stinker in the bunch.
I will note though that the sound of the album is also excellent - it's a
warm, intimate record grounded in homegrown country and folk with lots of
pedal steel, mandolin, accordion and other rootsy instrumentation. John
has never been the strongest vocalist, but his gruff Midwestern twang
feels right at home here.
Fair & Square is not only a great comeback album, but it's also one of the
finest albums of his illustrious career.
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