Hank The Drifter

Thanks, Flower Child. This is one of the few reviews I've ever written, but will be writing at least a few a week hopefully for a while.

Yeah, that's what I like about it. Being there is so little known about Hank Williams getting to hear this few seconds of chit-chat is just a reminder, like you said, that he was a real person.

Thanks, I'll add it there.
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Mescalito

Ryan Bingham
2007

Ryan Bingham is a Texas Country/Folk musician much in the vein of Townes Van Zandt. I don't think Bingham tries to sound like Townes he just has that 'gruffy' voice and the style of his writing puts me in the mind of Townes. I don't know how I would classify this album. It has so many elements from the Country/folky stuff to the almost to the rock side of things this album covers it all. 'Mescalito' is Binghams debut on a major record label, and though the album is lengthy and can run together and sound a bit samey in parts, its a great debut album from a very skilled musician. The album is fourteen tracks and and a little over one hour long. However, the last track on the album is a bit over thirteen minutes alone because there is a hidden track after the first track ends then there is a three minute silence.

Like a lot of Country musicians do to me, Ryan sounds like he was meant to be in front of a small audience in a bar playing for tips and such. This isn't a bad thing at all, so don't take it that way. What I mean is he just seems like one of those musicians that would be down to earth and cool to see play live because this type of music is just live music in my opinion.

Southside of Heaven I turned this track on for the first time and the style of playing reminded me so much of Townes Van Zandts style I had to check and make sure that I hadn't clicked the wrong album. I really enjoy the harmonica that kicks in before Bingham starts singing. Once Ryan starts singing you're introduced to his really 'gruffy' voice and this makes the album in my opinion. It jut fits what Bingham is singing so well the fact that the main points in this album is how tired he is and worn out the vocals just boost the album through the top. The Other Side starts off sounding like a Country-Rock song, which it is, but then you start hearing all the blues influence in the background combing for one interesting track and one of the shorter tracks on the album. Bread and Water is kept on key with hand clapping while the slide guitar and banjos play hard in the background. Now, by background I don't mean you're barely able to hear them because they are plenty loud in the mix I just mean the hand clapping is the main 'instrument' so to speak for most of the song. The next track Don't Wait For Me is basically the complete opposite of the one before it. Its a slower, placid tune that could be a real tearjerker. The slide guitar on this album works perfectly with Binghams vocals. The guitar doesn't overshadow the vocals and vice versa. I haven't talked about the production on this album yet, but its great! Marc Ford, who played guitar for the Black Crowes, was the producer behind this album and done great. Ghost of Traveling Jones This is my second favorite song on the album. Its one of those songs that seems like it may have been passed through the family and perfected by Ryan Bingham. Wow, between the way Bingham delivers on this album and the way the banjos and guitars work together just put this album over the bar for me. Hard Times is a song about, well obviously, hard times. Which was obviously a common theme among musicians back in the 20s-50s or so. For some reason upon first hearing this I thought about 'Dust Bowl Anthems' and how it relates to hard times. Then when I relate it to current times it still in some ways rings true. Dollar a Day is a song in which Bingham talks about how unappreciated somethings people do are. I don't want to review the entire Take It Easy Mama track, but I do want to say, the riff in this song is wonderful! Long Way From Georgia in this song Bingham really manages to project pictures into your mind. This is actually a pretty sad song. Not to mention the sounds of the acoustic and steel guitars great. For What It's Worth is the longest track on the album, but I guess its really two tracks combined. Anyway, the opening part of this track is some heavy picking with a little noise in the background. The song is pretty slow, but a very good track. I honestly don't know what more to say about this track.



This is album isn't an extremely original album although I feel it certainly has its moments. Very few albums out there are extremely original and this album brings more to the table than many. This is one of my favorite Alt-Country releases of recent years, personally.

If you're a fan of Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and so own check this CD out.

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams