Roger Creager’s Long Way to Mexico is definitely a flex in other musical directions for him.  There are several selections that will cry the Roger Creager we have known through former CD releases of Having Fun All Wrong and I Got The Guns.  Other selections from this CD range from Dixieland, rockabilly, blues, calypso, to honky tonk.  Production was handled by Lloyd Maines which ranks high on my expectations list, and I wasn’t disappointed.  There also appears to be a good bit of mentoring by Radney Foster (also with Dualtone) involved with this Creager effort that takes things to a brand new level.  This is a musical roller coaster that STARTs hard and fast, COASTs up and down the track for a while, then the big LOOP-THE-LOOP, and ends with the slow MOURNFUL FINISH.  Then you hop out and jump back in line for another ride. 

The START:  the first 3 tracks start hard and fast and don’t let up.  “Good Old Days,” the opening track, is co-authored by John Evans and, as would be expected of a tune involving Evans and Creager, is a rollicking tonker that keeps your toes tapping and your heart pumping.  The next track, is a cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s, “Love Is So Sweet.”  Again, this one is “so sweet, it makes you bounce when you walk down the street” (or when you drive down the road).  The next track, “Shreveport to New Orleans,” is a Creager and Kevin Fowler collaboration (both vocal and authored) that swings Dixieland, and you will swear you’re in New Orleans’ French Quarter. 

The COAST:  Things slow down a bit to give your tapping toes a rest with “All for the Sake of the Song,” a touching ballad about the driving influence of music in an artist’s life. 

“Her name was Stella.  She was old and gray.

She had rusty strings and keys.

And to tune her, it took a pair of pliers,

And lots of elbow grease.”

Then the pace picks back up with “Gypsyland” with a deep calypso rhythm.  I challenge you to keep your backside from wiggling or your shoulders from shimmying while this one spins.  A whimsical fable, “Some Get Rich” (while the rest get by) is treated in a light, Lyle Lovett lilt.  Special mention needs to be made of the Radney Foster/Creager collaboration (vocal and authored) “I Say When I Drink What I Think When I’m Sober.”  This selection uses singing and conversational commentary with bluesy piano and a whiney country steel to set the mood for this unique song.  The chorus refrain, “I’m in the mood to do a little drinking tonight,” sets the stage for the tongue-in-cheek approach.  Within the body of the song, Radney speaks: 

“Roger, there are spiritual, physical, and existential reasons why man cannot live by bread alone.  It’s not a simple thing in life; it’s very complex; it takes a long time; and it’s excellent.”  Roger asks:  “What is it, Radney?”  Radney replies:  “Brisket……and beer.”  And that is only a taste and a sip of this tongue-in-cheek side-trip.

The LOOP-THE-LOOP:  The finale cranks up with the title track, “Long Way to Mexico.” A quick stepped Tejano flavored tune that takes you to a favorite Mexican getaway, where half the fun is in the getting there:

“I’ve got music on the stereo.  Bluebonnets on the passing road.

It’s a long way to Mexico, but I’m going there tonight.

Line the Margaritas up.  I’m doing 90 in my pickup truck.

It’s a long way to Mexico.  Here I go.”

This is immediately followed by another Creager and Radney Foster authored song, “Love is Crazy.”  This one has that definite Creager feel to it.  With lots of fiddle and Creager imprinted guitar licks.  This one is definitely going to be one of your favorites.

“Magnets attract or magnets repel. 

They either connect or they fight like hell. 

It depends on how you turn them.”

The MOURNFUL FINISH:  You roll slowly back into the coaster station to the tune of “Late Night Case of the Blues,” a mournful dirge about the drags of life on the musical road.  Excellent song, but will leave you low and sad.  So, as the last strains die away, you punch the button for track 1 and start all over again.  I found it very difficult to take this one out of the CD player.  I bet you will too.  So get yourself a copy and see what I mean. 

More information about Roger Creager is available via his web site, RogerCreager.com.  You can purchase this CD at RogerCreager.com, LoneStarMusic.com, Walmart, TexasMusicExpress.com, or your favorite Texas Music store.  Visit Dualtone Records at http://www.Dualtone.com.
 

Written by Cheryl Arthur, October, 2003