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Tommy Irvin "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor"
by Jay Johnson |
| Tommy
Irvin’s newest release, Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor, holds
significant appeal for the raucous, rowdy crowd and all of the subsets
thereof, i.e., Texas outlaws, roughnecks, bikers, rockabilly hell-raisers,
etc. Additionally, it can be surmised from the photos on the cover
and sleeve of the CD that the Texan’s good looks hold significant appeal
for the ladies. If you enjoy a mix of barrelhouse, sweat soaked
blues, rock, rockabilly and country, accented with Western swing courtesy
of a guest appearance by Hank Thompson, I suggest you get yourself a
fishbowl of draft beer and some peanuts and give Honky Tonk Hardwood
Floor a listen. The outlaw appeal of four of the ten songs, seven of which were written or co-written by Tommy Irvin, cannot be denied. The opening track, "Heavy Load of Pain", is an obligatory train song driven by a Cash-esque, clickety-clack beat. Irvin leaves no doubt about who his heroes and influences are throughout the songs. That is particularly true of track two, "Don’t Give Johnny No Paycheck (Give Johnny Cash)". It’s a hardworking, blue-collar homage to two great Johnnys, Cash and Paycheck, and is comprised of lines from many of their greatest hits. Texas outlaw lovers might take offense to "Bocephus Stole the Show", if the story about a night that Hank Jr. “shook ‘em like The Killer” and stole the show from some Texas musicians wasn’t such fun and delivered so well. "Ninety-Nine on Fourty-Five" tells the story of a man who killed his cheating wife’s lover and vows to do the same to her, if he ever gets out of jail. But, as Irvin tells, in a voice reminiscent of Johnny Paycheck or Charlie Daniels, he never does get out and ends up buried in a prison grave. The nitro-fueled rockabilly number, "Stopped By The Cops", made me think momentarily that I’d bumped my CD player remote and was listening to The Reverend Horton Heat! It’s an unapologetic, politically incorrect, up-tempo song about drinking and driving that’s sure to offend MADD members everywhere. The frantic pace is augmented nicely by the excellent bass playing of Ronnie Ellis. The pace slows to a rumbling blues on "John Dear Letter" with opening strains and a driving rhythm evocative of The Doors’ "Roadhouse Blues". Tommy transforms his voice, at times, to an earthy growl to the accompaniment of Jerry Methini’s Stevie Ray Vaughn-like guitar licks. "Tattoo", the deepest song lyrically on the CD, seems oddly juxtaposed with the others. It’s about life’s journey, the search for and loss of identity and the cold reality that, at some point, there may be “nothing left that’s really you. You’re just somebody else’s tattoo”. The appearance of "Wolverton Mountain" on this CD is a bit ironic. A visit to www.TommyIrvin.com reveals Johnny Horton to be a major influence on Mr. Irvin. In fact, he does a Johnny Horton tribute show. The irony is that when Merle Kilgore and Claude King wrote the song, it was offered to George Jones and Johnny Horton, but they turned it down. Claude King recorded it, and it went to number one on the country and pop charts. Tommy does a good job singing about the girl whose “lips are sweeter than honey”. Rounding things out are the good time, swinging "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor" and the highlight of the release, "Bob Wills Still Is The King", a duet with the legendary Hank Thompson. As previously stated, this is a rowdy, hell-raising CD. I think I’ll get another fishbowl of beer and give it another listen!
Email Jay about this review |
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