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The Country Caruso, Johnny Bush, is as strong as ever.  Honky Tonic, an authentically Texan collection of swinging, drinking, shuffling, and sing-along songs really hits the mark if you’re looking for that hard-core country sound.  His distinctive voice and trademark music take me back to carefree college days when we would look for Bush, Gary Stewart, Willie Nelson, or Asleep at the Wheel at a club somewhere in Texas, and half a dozen or so of us would pile in some cars and drive a couple hundred miles (I went to Texas A&M and ANY place was at least a hundred miles away) for a great night of music and dancing.  I somehow never completely lost that habit, and thank the good Lord, Bush never gave it up either. There was a time when his voice faded a bit, due to a rare affliction of the vocal chords.  But, as his last several CDs have proven, he was determined to beat that obstacle.  With innovative treatment discoveries in the last couple of years for the vocal chord problem, Bush has made Honky Tonic as wonderful and strong as his music was in the '70s.

With strong standards like "What Made Milwaukee Famous", "I Gotta Get Drunk", and of course, "Whiskey River", this CD is overflowing with songs you know by heart.  Then you have the smooth duets with honky-tonking contemporaries Willie Nelson and Tommy Alverson on "Jones on the Jukebox" and "Whiskey River" (which, by the way, is the first time that Nelson and Bush have recorded this Willie signature song together).  As a special bonus, there are the tantalizing duets with new comers Kevin Fowler, Cooder Graw, and Stephanie Urbina Jones on "Ol’ What’s Her Name", "Gotta Get Drunk" (also with Willie Nelson), and "Some People Just Get Lucky".

The rest of the CD is also a remarkable testimony to the determination and perseverance of years in this hardscrabble music business.  Bush knows his audience and his music.  I know you’ve been a little parched for some of this.  So why don’t you make your Honky Tonic a double?  You can get them at http://lonestarmusic.com, http://johnnybush.com, or any one of your favorite record stores.

Written by Cheryl Arthur, May 2005

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