Eleven Hundred Springs "A Straighter Line"

I am going to start this review with my personal perception of the band, Eleven Hundred Springs...Matt Hillyer, in particular. My wife and I first saw / heard Eleven Hundred Springs at Texas Music Revolution 3. Halfway through their first song, I yelled to my wife, “I like this group!” They say first impressions are everything, but with Eleven Hundred Springs, my second and third impressions of Matt Hillyer solidified my liking for this group. You see, after they performed they came and sat out in the audience with everybody else. My wife happened to catch Matt at their table all alone. She told Matt how much I enjoyed their show, and Matt told her to bring me over to his table. She did and we sat and talked to Matt for about ten minutes. Later that evening, with the help of a couple of Shaver fans, we snuck into the backstage VIP area. I believe Charlie Robison and Jack Ingram were back there at the time. There was a lot commotion and partying going on, and off to the side I noticed Matt talking to a 12 year old kid. He’s asking the kid if he’s enjoying himself and the kid is showing him all of his autographs. We talked to Matt and the kid for awhile and ended up posing with Matt for a picture before we left.

I have had people tell me that I am a hard person to impress, but in fact I am quite easy to impress. You impress me by not trying to impress me. You must be a genuine, kind hearted and respectful person. I am sure Matt does not remember the 20 minutes or so we spent with him that day, but my wife and I do . I hope the boys in Eleven Hundred Springs know that it’s not only their music that is special, but it’s the genuine interest and the few minutes here and there that they share with their fans that will be remembered and talked about for years to come. I’ve got a feeling that they probably do.

Now on to my review of "A Straighter Line" by Eleven Hundred Springs. I have been looking forward to hearing this CD for awhile and it lived up to my expectations.

Track 1: "Sad and Lonesome Song"- This song has a traditional country feel thanks to Aaron Wynne’s pedal steel and Reggie Rueffer's fiddle playing.

Track 2: "Long Haired Tatooed Hippie Freaks"- This song will become Eleven Hundred Springs' signature song if it has not already. The first time you see these boys onstage and then hear their music, it throws you for a loop. This song pretty much explains why. I describe this song as a new age outlaw anthem. It’s very lively and upbeat. It takes a swipe at the “ass clowns” (my term, not theirs) in Nashville as well as paying tribute to Johnny Paycheck, Waylon, Willie, and the late and great Doug Sahm.

Track 3: "Thunderbird Will Do Just Fine"- Staggering in the footsteps of Billy Joe Shaver and Townes Van Zandt, Eleven Hundred Springs pays tribute to the poor drinking man’s best (or worst) friend. Although, I think the price has gone up a little since Billy Joe and Townes’ version. This is a great picking song. It’s very catchy and easy to sing along, too. It does have a couple of drug references such as “roll up another joint” and “ take that joint and fire it up”. These references may or may not bother you. Regardless it’s still a fun song, especially with lyrics like:

“I stumble in to the liquor store (trying hard not to fall)

with a dollar fifty for a bottle of wine (staying drunk all the time)

I know just what I’m looking for / thunderbird will do just fine"

The lyrics in parenthesis are the backing vocals.

Track 4: "It Don’t Mean A Thing"- This song is about a fella, who no matter what he does, can’t get this girl to pay him any attention. Some good dobro playing by T-Roy Miller on this one.

Track 5: "Bird On A Wire"- This song is beautiful, it’s probably my favorite cut on the CD. It’s hard to believe that a line such as “bird on a wire strung between poles” can be so beautiful and powerful. I played this song for a friend of mine and she almost cried listening to it.

Track 6: "Good Times Hard Living"- Ah, the misadventures and ignorance of youth. Don’t you miss the days when you lived life by the minute? These boys still do.

This one has some good pedal steel.

Track 7: "Hey Jukebox"- This one has some good banjo picking in it. You don’t hear too much banjo in country music now a days. The banjo playing is a refreshing and welcome addition to this tune.

Track 8: "See You In The Next Life": Eleven Hundred Springs always seems to have a unique twist to their love gone wrong songs and this one is no different. Their approach to bad relationships is always sprinkled with a generous amount of sarcasm and humor. She likes Barbara Streisand and he doesn't. She likes to laugh when people fall and she doesn't like his hair. Still, he hopes he gets a chance to do right by her if they should meet in the next life. T-Roy plays the dobro on this one also.

Track 9: "The Ballad Of Anna Stone"- This song has an AM radio sound and a tire slapping the road beat to it. It’s about a southern gal who catches the fancy of a southern boy. Who could blame him for liking a girl who likes “soda pop and halter tops” and “cut off jeans ripping out at the seams”. You could take this girl home, you just couldn’t take her home to mama.

Track 10: "A Straighter Line"- After listening to the previous nine tracks, the boys throw a curve ball on the last song. They finish out the CD with a spiritual song. The title track is a dark somber tune about desperation, but it has a sense of hope within it. When Matt Hillyer sings “do you feel His hand on your shoulder / the way that I feel on mine” it gives me chills. This is a very good song with a great message.

Good song writing and good musicianship make "A Straighter Line" one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. I enjoyed every song on this CD. There were no filler tracks on it at all. My favorite tracks are 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10. At times, this CD has a “Buck Owens” kind of feel, but it is not overly noticeable. On the back of the CD, it says that they were trying to “capture the feel of five guys sitting in a room playing where there happened to be microphones” and they did that. There’s a very leisurely feel to this CD. It was almost like they weren’t trying. Do yourself a favor and get this album if you don’t already have it and better yet go see ‘em live.

Eleven Hundred Springs is Matt Hillyer (guitar, lead vocals), Aaron Wynne (pedal steel, banjo, piano, backing vocals), Chris Claridy (guitar, backing vocals), Steve Berg (bass, backing vocals), Bruce (drums, percussion).

Sully

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