| Almeria Club - Hank Williams Jr. | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
With over 70 albums recorded, Hank Williams Jr. doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. He simply can record stuff for himself. He's got a lot of loyal fans that will buy his CDs as well. With this CD, Hank Jr. has decided to go back to his roots for this CD. Hank Jr. decided to record most of the CD at the Almeria club in Almeria, Alabama. Hank's father played at this converted schoolhouse years ago. Hank Jr. had many of the best session members from Nashville, including the producer Chuck Howard, to record in this tiny closed club.
Hank Jr. also decided to record in two other locations, at the site of the Louisiana Hayride (Shreveport, LA) and at a studio in Kansas City, KS. Among the guest artists are Nickel Creek, Trick Pony, and rockin' rebel (and close Hank Jr. friend) Kid Rock. These guests add to the wonderful sound of this CD.
On "The F. Word," Hank Jr. is singing about how Rock musicians and Hank III use the F. Word in their music, when in Country Music the use of such a word is a taboo. This is a funny song with Kid Rock singing background vocals on the last chorus of the song. This song is a true classic twangy country music weeper.
On both versions of "Last Pork Chop," Hank Jr. is singing as blues artist "Thunderhead Hawkins." Hank says that the name is simply his way of being able to sing a blues song w/o people getting confused about what he's actually singing, much like Hank Sr. used to sing his recitation (spoken) songs as "Luke The Drifter." Both songs are a nice change of pace to the rest of the CD.
"X-treme Country" is Hank Jr.'s answer to everyone labeling everything "X-treme," stating that he is "X-tremely Country." Another fun song filled with fiddle and steel guitar.
On "Outdoor Lovin' Man," Hank Jr. is singing about how much he loves the outdoors and how he would take a day outdoors over many indoors. The background group is none other than Nickel Creek. Hank Jr. also plays the five string Banjo for the first time on one of his CDs.
In 2000, on a snowy January night, Football superstar Derrick Thomas and his buddy Mike Tellis died in a car crash. Derrick was one who helped inner-city children all the time. Derrick and Mike were close friends of Hank Jr's. On "Cross On The Highway," Hank eulogizes these two great men with a touching song about those crosses we see on the highway.
The final track of the CD is perhaps it's strongest. "America Will Survive" is the 2002 version of "A Country Boy Can Survive." This CD finds Hank changing the words to fit the tragic events of September 11, 2001. This song has received some deserved airplay at radio.
Song List:
Song clips courtesy Barnes & Noble.
Album cover, used with permission of Curb.
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