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The GOOD kind. Although only two songs on this album were written by Hank, this CD is absolutely amazing. You've got legendary country songs like Cocaine Blues and 87 Southbound, all that Hank does flawlessly. If you listen to Hank III, you are probably more familar with the dirty, gritty, metal-inspired country that he plays. But this album is straight up county. This album is one of my favorites of all time. Give it and all of Hank's work a listen, you'll be surprised.
This is my first purchase of a Hank III solo disc, but I also greatly enjoy the collaboration "Three Hanks" which features his dad, Hank Jr. Harder to believe that he has not made a bigger splash in the commercial country/rock music business than he has. Hard to believe that Hank III released this debut CD TEN years ago. and via the wonders of technology, Hank Sr. While none of the 13 songs on here has the staying power of his father's rowdy hits or his grandfather's broken-hearted ballads, Hank III demonstrates that he is a class performer, with good instincts for picking material. Young Hank only contributed to the writing of four of these tracks, but all are interesting enough to reward frequently repeated play. doing a bunch of grandpa's lesser-known songs, and doing them very well. I can't predict Hank III's recording and performing future, but if he does not achieve a long and prosperous career, I would be quite surprised.
If Sr was alive today this would be him. III did it his own with an outlaw country twist. One listen and I was hooked. BFC
"DAMN RIGHT, REBEL PROUD" TO BE RELEASED ON OCTOBER 21, 2008. PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON.COM CHECK IT OUT SOME OF THE NEW SONGS ON WWW.MYSPACE.COM/HANK3"The Grand Ole Opry Ain't So Grand Anymore""Long Hauls And Close Calls""Six Pack Of Beer"
Much has already been said about this album.and I don't know what more I can add.except that for me, one of the most brilliant concepts about the album is that Hank Williams III seems to be raising his own grandfather's ghost while at the same time forcible keeping his own beautiful originality intact. The last song "Blue Devil" is particularly haunting, not only because it reflects the split nature of all three Hank Williams singers, but also because the editing in the piece recalls those late nights of driving across lonely stretches of the Arizona desert and trying to listen to country western songs on some distant and fading AM station. In closing I might also add that it's seems a bit strange to find photos on this album of bits and pieces of an old car's backseat, which may or may not have reference to his own grandfather untimely death in the backseat of a Cadillac in 1953. And how Hank Williams III's music is somehow forever connected to his own grandfather's nostalgia of good western music.
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