Fourteen years is a long time between albums. Country singer/songwriter
Jamey Johnson
hasn't been absent, though. He continued touring and amassed credits with everyone from
Willie Nelson
and
Alison Krauss
to
Warren Haynes
Don Henley
.
Johnson
never stopped writing, but recording proved a losing proposition financially.
Warner
provided him incentive with his own label (
Midnight Gasoline
), and he responded with this. Subtitled Cash One,
is the first in a series cut at Cash Cabin, the Hendersonville, Tennessee studio owned by
Johnny Cash
June Carter
, and now
John Carter Cash
. The album's first half was produced by the
Kent Hardly Playboys
, the second by
Dave Cobb
co-wrote eight of the album's 12 songs. His approach to the tradition is unwavering.
This is a sometimes brooding set of tunes, poignant and even profound. "Bad Guy" is a bluesy paean to his life as a songwriter; in places, it recalls
the Allman Brothers
' "Midnight Rider." The title cut is a rootsy, midtempo shuffle. The protagonist attempts a geographical cure after a difficult breakup. While the lyric is heartbreaking,
Melonie Cannon
Wyatt Baird
's wonderful chorus vocals offer solace. The jazzy vintage countrypolitan twang in "What a View" finds a man intently observing a woman in a bar; she doesn't know he's alive. "21 Guns" is a single and a requiem for a soldier: "I don't need no one to tell me you're a hero. Hell, I've known that since you were young/There ain't no words/for how proud we are of you/Nothin' says job well done like 21 guns." "Someday When I'm Old" finds the protagonist looking to the future with gratitude for the past -- particularly with his beloved. There are some swinging honky tonk jams here, too, like the cover of
Charlie Daniels
' horn-driven barroom stomper "Trudy" with guest
Randy Houser
, while "Saturday Night in New Orleans," co-written with
Tony Joe White
Chris Stapleton
, offers a perfect balance of country swamp ballad and swinging NOLA jazz. The musical approach on "Sober" offers shades of
Merle Haggard
; it's an autobiographical account of his sobriety journey, revealing its victories and challenges. That's underscored in the honky tonk blues "I'm Tired of It All," with
Houser
; its protagonist recounts the good-time life but finds it wanting. "No Time Like the Past," co-written with
Stapelton
, could have been recorded by
Waylon Jennings
. Its strident 4/4 with throbbing bass, harmonica, piano, pedal steel, and acoustic guitars delivers a hard truth: "I guess I can't move on like I'm supposed to/I just wanna remember nights I got to hold you¿/If you want a heartache to last/There ain't no time like the past." The album closes with a wryly humorous honky tonk two-stepper that recalls prime
Bobby Bare
in offering a balanced account of life's blessings, traps, and mistakes.
finds
picking up directly where he left off. It sounds great, buoying killer songs with deeply moving performances. ~ Thom Jurek