Country

The Four Guys – The Good Guys (1978)

  • Posted on January 15, 2010 at 9:44 pm
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Didn’t the Village People already have a gay cowboy?  I suppose these guys might kick my #$% for that remark but seriously, white polyester cowboy outfits?  This wasn’t a manly look even in the 70′s.

The Four Guys are one of those groups that have been around forever and have gone through a few different lineups.  I can’t say that I’d heard of them before which is a little surprising given the fact that they were Grand Ole Opry members for 33 years.  They were actually the second act ever to be fired from the Opry.  The first, of course,  was the greatest country music songwriter in history, Hank Williams.  That’s pretty impressive company.  I don’t know how many of the members from this record were still a part of the group at that point but it’s still a feather in their cap.  Most people know that Hank was fired from the Opry for being a raging alcoholic.  After one listen to the Four Guys, I’d tend to think they might have been fired for writing songs that…..how do I put this delicately…….ummm……sucked!

It’s not that the Four Guys sound bad.  They harmonize pretty well and do a passable 50′s style doo-wop number (“I Remember”).  The problem is that most of the songs are just plain bad.  Side two in particular.  The album starts off with a promising tune, “Mother Country Music”, which is actually a decent arrangement.  The female backup singers definitely stand out but it’s a mediocre song at best.  From here, the album degrades quickly.  The problem is that this is a 70′s version of “pop country”.  If you’re not familiar with my opinion of “pop country” music, please check the Art Essery post.  During the 70′s, this style of music tended to be skewed towards sappy ballads with themes of lost love and pickup trucks.  The only difference today of course, is that the people crooning them are better looking and the songs are usually a little less Debbie Boone-ish.

There is some info available on The Four Guys but you’ll have to look it up yourself.  I’m just not interested enough to use up more space here.

Now if you’ll excuse me.  I’ll be spinning some Hank Williams to remove the taste of this album from my palate.  Bon appetit!

Tracks:

Side One

Side Two

Continue reading The Four Guys – The Good Guys (1978)

The Art Essery Show – Drinking Champagne

  • Posted on January 7, 2010 at 2:23 pm
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Sometimes I grab an album because the artwork or cover photo draws my attention. Today’s record is a great example. The matching suits, lamb chop sideburns, and the pink pantsuit all told me this was going to be a pretty cheesy album. But a funny thing happens when you make an assumption based on appearances. You’re usually wrong. In this case, I was very wrong.

First off, let me say that I’m a big fan of what I’ll call “classic” country music. Please don’t confuse that with the pop country that fills the airwaves on “country” radio stations. I’ll leave my pop country rant for another day but lets just say that I’d rather pass another kidney stone than listen to pop country for five minutes. I think Shania Twain is a stunning woman, I just don’t want to hear her brand of country music. And they get a lot worse than Shania…..sorry….I promised that I wouldn’t rant.

The Art Essery Show is clearly steeped in traditional country music. After an initial spin of this LP, I was pretty impressed. The songs are good, the singing isn’t bad, and the guitar work is incredible.  It’s so good that I had to listen to the album again…. immediately!

My favorite part about writing a music blog like this is discovering brilliant musicians that you’ve never heard of.  In this case it’s Leroy Glazier, the guitar player for the Art Essery show.  Leroy passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2008 and based on the numerous obituary postings, he was clearly loved by those who knew him.  There’s a few videos of Leroy out on YouTube and I became an instant fan after I listened to his guitar work.  Here’s a nice video to give you an idea of the talent this man possessed:

Lilly Ray Music put out two cd’s of Leroy’s instrumental guitar work which you can find at http://www.leroyglazier.com/index.html.  I’ll be ordering both as soon as I get my weekly allowance.

Getting back to the Art Essery Show, it appears that Art is still pretty active on the country music scene as his name pops up a few times in Google.  There is, however,  a noticeable lack of information out there in cyberspace on either Art Essery or his group.  Oh great Google gods, why have you forsaken me?  I do know that they released at least one more album as the Art Essery Show because I saw someone selling it on eBay.  So that’s what it’s come to.  My quest for knowledge is limited to an eBay auction.  I may as well just join the mindless masses and watch a few hours of pop country on CMT.  BTW…Shania….call me…..I’ve been a very naughty little monkey.

I’ve got no idea what that even means.  Enjoy the record!

Tracks:

Side One

Side Two

Continue reading The Art Essery Show – Drinking Champagne