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Arty Hill & the Long Gone Daddys

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Arty Hill
Arty Hill – Back on the Rail

Arty Hill & the Long Gone Daddys – Back on the rail

Cow Island Music CIM12 {2005}
Living on the Road Again – Jackson Shake – Me & My Glass Jaw – Big Daddy’s Rye – I Left Highlandtown – Based on Real Life – It Ain’t Working – Drifting In – Back On The Rail – I Ate Through the Jail -Tammerlane – When The Sparks Come Falling Down

First issued in 2005, Arty Hill’s debut album is now reissued by the fine folks at Cow Island, and it’s a nice addition to their catalog that already counts The Starline Rhythm Boys, The Dixons, Nate Gibson, Lil Mo in their rank.
On this entirely self-penned album, this three piece band (accoustic rhythm guitar, twangy lead guitar and drums) mixes with success straight Honky Tonk (Me & My Glass Jaw, Drifting In), uptembo numbers with a good dose of rockabilly (Big Daddy Ryes, It Ain’t Working and I Ate Through The Jail based upon a Scotty Moore kind of guitar lick.), and country ballads with solid and intelligent lyrics.
Musically, they are a very cohesive trio : Arty has the perfect voice for that kind of stuff that reminds me a bit of Cam Wagner from Jimmy Roy’s Five Stars Hillbillies (by the way what happened to Cam?). Dave Chappell’s telecaster embellishes the tracks with tasty licks, his guitar talks, answers to Arty, makes you cry, man ! this piece of wood is alive. Last but not least, Craig Stevens. There’s no need of flashy drumming for this kind of music, Craig’s style is spare but efficient and fits completely with the rest.
This is what country music should be : real music by real people for real folks.
Available here.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Arty Hill - Montgomery on my Mind
Arty Hill – Montgomery on my Mind

Arty Hill & the Long Gone Daddys – Montgomery On My Mind

Cow Island CIM015 {2009}
Church On Saturday Night – Pan American – I Can’t Help It – I’m A Long Gone Daddy – Don’s Bop – Lovesick Blues – Take This Chains From My Heart – Montgomery On My Mind

Coming from Cow Island your finest purveyor of today’s true country music and Arty Hill comes this tribute to one of the greatest songwriter of all times: Hank Williams. And one couldn’t imagine a better band to do this than the one called the Long Done Daddies, don’t you think?
The good thing is that they never try to recreate Hank’s sound. They play Williams songs their own way. “Pan American” is driven by a hot fiddle (played by guest Patrick McAvinue) echoed by a solid dobro, for a very “bluegrassy” result. Their take on “Lovesick Blues” is in the same vein, almost all acoustic.
I couldn’t believe you could bring something to the near perfection of “I Can’t Help It”. But Arty Hill did, and as incredible as it may sound, it seems evident. They muscle “I’m A Long Gone Daddy” and turn it into a rockin’ number. More surprising (but a good surprise), they apply the same treatment to “Take These Chains From My Heart”.
Another proof of their talent is the three originals they wrote that perfectly blend with Williams’ songs. “Church On Saturday Night” is a tribute to the glorious days of Country Music and the Grand Ole Opry. With lyrics like “Now they can take the Opry / Make it slick and loud / slap it on a T-shirt and sell it to the crowd / but that don’t make Country” you’re sure that this culture is in good hands (and I bet Dale Watson would have loved to write such lyrics).
“Montgomery On My Mind” is a beautiful love songs that takes place in Montgomery, hometown of Williams and “Don’s Bop” is an instrumental tribute to Don Helms, steel guitar player in the Drifting Cowboys.
Hank would sure be very proud.
Available here.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Slick Andrews

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Slick Andrews - Let's Beer It Up
Slick Andrews – Let’s Beer It Up

Slick Andrews – Let’s Bear It Up With…

WH07003.Wild Hare Records {2007}
Beer It Up /Queen of the Honkytonk /Shot Down in Flames /Three Old Friends /Cut Out The Drama /Love’s Last Note /World’s Greatest Lover /Whisper You Love Me/Millionaire /Dance Floor Romance /The Dues This Fool Has Paid /She Drives Me Crazy
Howdy all y’all… gather around folks and listen to the good ol’ Long Tall telling you the story of a country boy comin’ from Texas. That son-of-a-gun hard corn liquor drinker, smoker and look alike Hank Penny Slick Andrews was layin’out one night with a bunch of purdy nussin’ honky-tonk angels, sittin’ snug as a bug and relaxing in his regular juke-joint listening to some tear jerking honky-tonkin’ song on the juke-box while drinking his favourite long-neck boozin’n’fresh beer. Then in this place hotter than a June bride, the walking on a slant cow-boy suddenly stood up like he was hittin’ by lightning (a white one of course) and yell “You’re Darn Tootin’, that stuff’s so good it makes you wanna jump up and slap yo’ mama!” I wanna be a singer and play some honky-tonk and hot hillbilly jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs. I wanna sing some songs about beer, honky-tonk angels, dancin’ and love ». The rag-babies as surprised as if a sheep had bit ‘em stare at Slick like he‘s mad as a mule chewing on bumblebees while he was running out of the joint like the house is afire and jumpin’ in his car to drive pedal to metal until he hit the Wild Hare Records building…

Well, I’m not quiet sure this is the way it really happened but it easily could had been, so much that dude sounds and looks like he’s comin’ right from the late forties-early fifties in a Time Machine. Slick is bringing with him some great self penned hillbilly, western-swing, honky-tonk and rockabilly songs and a first class rockin’ band called “the Wild Hare Millionaires”(Buck Stevens, John Bozarth, Eddie Macintosh, Dave Moore, Mark Pettijohn).As me you will surely love all of these “a little bit of everything” 12 songs in a “Let’s Beer it Up” album full of rolling piano (the eponymous song), twangy (“Shot Down in Flames”) and rockabilly guitar (“Cut Out The Drama” and the very soundalike Johnny Horton “Dance Floor Romance”) steel-guitar in a tearjerkin’ honky-tonk style (“Three Old Friends”, “Love’s Last Note” and especially “Whisper You Love” which reminds me of Hank Williams), slappin’ bass (the “Millionaire” instrumental) wild screams and rockin’ drums (“She Drives Me Crazy”) and, indeed, western swingin’ sound (“World’s Greater Lover”). I’m sur the old Hank would have agree with me to say “I got a hot rod Ford and a two dollar bill and I know a spot right over the hill there’s Slick ‘s band and the beer is free so if you wanna have fun come along with me….

Long Tall David

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