In A Perfect World

As a teenager growing up in the Houston area in the late 70s and early 80s, it was impossible to escape all of the Urban Cowboy craze and Gilley-abilia associated with that movie. But somewhere therein, I discovered the hard, honky-tonk edge and the soul of "real" country music in artists like Gene Watson, Merle Haggard, and Gary Stewart, and in old-timers like Hank Thompson, Eddy Arnold, and Ray Price. There have been brief resurgences led by folks like George Strait, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakum, and unexpected newcomers like Teddy Thompson.

But country music -- more accurately, the music executives in Nashville -- sold its soul to formulaic jingles sung by beefcake crooners who rarely knew the heartache of real life, and it was reflected in their music. It was once said that the reason Hank Williams (the original version) was so good was because he had spent a lot of time staring at the south-bound end of a north-bound mule. The formulaic crooners, on the other hand, rarely experienced such hardships unless their stylist canceled their coiffure and manicure appointment.

But the soul of country music, while abandoned by Nashville music honchos, did not disappear. Recently, Raul Malo (formerly of The Mavericks) covered ten classics on his After Hours release. And Teddy Thompson's Up Front & Down Low CD did the same. As good as these CDs are, they are jazzier arrangements of old country standards (more so Raul Malo's) and they still lack the hard edge of a guy (or girl) singing sincerely about experiencing the pain and misfortune, or the joy and peace that is the subject of a good country tune because he's lived it himself.

Then along came (again) Gene Watson. A native of the east Texas town of Palestine, Gene worked in an auto body shop while singing each night in clubs in and around Houston. His music career took off during those great old days aforementioned, with such hits as Paper Rosie and Should I Go Home or Should I Go Crazy. Gene's back, and better than ever. This month, he released In A Perfect World.

His voice is still as pure and sincere and honest as it was a quarter century ago. Sadly, I don't suspect that he will get much airtime on commercial radio. After all, he's hardcore; he's in his 60s now. All he does is sing and sing well, and sadly that's enough for today's Nashville.

The CD contains fantastic covers of Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me and Merle Haggard's Today I Started Loving You Again. He is joined by such notables as Connie Smith, Joe Nichols, Vince Gill, Mark Chestnutt, and Lee Ann Womack, who instead of stealing part of the spotlight from one of the purest voices ever to grace country radio, are largely content to harmonize with Gene. A notable exception to this is the duet with Rhonda Vincent on the Buck Owens (or if you prefer, George Jones and Tammy Wynette) classic, Together Again.

While the covers of the classics are great, it is the seven new songs that make this CD worth having in your collection. The title song evokes the sadness of a lost love and how life was perfect when his wife and little girl were still with him, but now, along with his dreams of the perfect world, they are gone. A Good Place to Turn Around is a hopeful song of redemption for a wayward soul, made all the more poignant by Gene's expressive vocalization.

This is Gene's first release on the Shanachie label, and I hope this will be the first of many. Kudos to Gene for sticking to what he does best, and what he does better than most -- still true country music with an edge and with a voice that is one of the best in the business. Unfortunately, I doubt this CD will ever get much radio play. But that is even more reason to add it to your library.

It's a good day when the heart and soul of country music reappears. It's even more joyous when it's from someone who never left it.