Sons of the Palomino - Sons of the Palomino: Album feature & review

Sons of the Palomino - Sons of the Palomino: Album feature & review

Band: Website

Release Date: 30 June 2017

Label: 3 Ring Circus

UPC: 819376011622 | Digipack Packaging

Record Label: BFD

13 Tracks/ Time: 47:45

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http://smarturl.it/sonsofthepalomino

1. Runnin’ Around 2. Authentic 3. When Lonely Calls 4. Countryholic 5. Outta This Town

6. Lie 7. Independent Trucker 8. Whiskey Years 9. Hole In The Wall 10. Unbroken People

11. Used To Be Country Town 12. Nobody Does Lonely 13. Old Roads and Lost Highways

           

Fresh country music with an old school country sound.

For Fans Of: The Time Jumpers, Merle Haggard, Jeffrey Steele, George Jones

ABOUT: Traditional Country Group lead by singer/songwriter Jeffrey Steele.

Real Name: Jeffrey LeVaseur

Profile: American country music singer and songwriter, born 27 August 1961 in Burbank, California, USA.

Publishing: BMI/Jeffrey Steele Music, BMI/BPJ Administration, BMI

In Brief: The project took Music Row by storm with guest artists flocking to the sessions that include John Anderson ("Authentic"), Emmylou Harris (“Out of this Town”), Jamey Johnson ("Whiskey Years"), Vince Gill, Gretchen Wilson ("Used to be a Country Town") and from Big and Rich fame, John Rich who appeared on the first single "Countryholic" and makes a guest showing in the video as well.

Background: Every songwriter dreads these words; “Nobody is going to cut this song.”

Everybody, that is, except Jeffrey Steele. Make no mistake: This Nashville Songwriter Hall Of Fame member has written more than his share of hits, including No.1 singles for Rascal Flatts (“These Days”, “What Hurts the Most” and “My Wish”), Tim McGraw (“The Cowboy in Me"; songwriters Tom Douglas, Jaren Johnston, and Jeffrey Steele), Steve Holy (“Brand New Girlfriend”) and Keith Urban (“Raise Em Up”).  Jeffrey also co-wrote Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s” with Tom Douglas and Jaren Johnston, which peaked at #2 on Country Airplay and was nominated for a CMT Collaborative Video of the Year in 2015.

This album was not created to dominate the charts. Steele’s collaborators expressed bafflement or disbelief at the way he was steering the session. “You can’t play this for Luke Bryan! You can’t play this for Kenny Chesney! They’re gonna laugh you out of town!’ was the reaction.

Which is why his latest project triggered so much head-scratching up and down Music Row.

“Songwriting vet Jeffrey Steele is among the performers who, early in his career, graced the stage of the Palomino Club, the legendary North Hollywood venue that was a haven for country fans for decades.

Circa late 1980s/early 1990s it is described a in the nicest sense of the word, a dive: dark, dingy, low ceiling, red stools lining a long bar, duct tape patching a carpet worn by decades of artists dragging gear in from the alley, lugging it  through the crowd toward the room in the back where they could change before their show. Only the photos that cover the walls — shots of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, each one taken as they played on this venue’s cramped stage.

Steele wrote or co-wrote every track on the album paying homage to the traditional country music that the venue championed.

In a nod to the club, which helped launch Dwight Yoakam into superstardom, Steele is the front man of outfit Sons of the Palomino, a band that comprises A-list sessions musicians Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Larry Franklin (fiddle), Jerry Roe (drums), Tony Harrell (piano), James Mitchell (guitar) and Brad Albin (bass). The group’s new single and video for “Countryholic” is a potent mix of old-school honky-tonk, sparkling with clever, rapid-fire wordplay (with crafty shout-outs to Merle Haggard and Hank Williams) and a guest shot from John Rich.”

Review:
Drenched in steel guitar and fiddle the light-hearted opener “Running Around”, a terrific up-tempo dance hall cut, reaches out to a female protagonist bored with the dance hall lies and neon lights and chasing a 6ft faded blue jean dream! After heels have cooled and tears have been shed an olive branch is tentatively offered for a return to her everyday Joe.

There’s nothing to prove and trying to be cool when Wall Street brands are dismissed on the masterful honky-tonker “Authentic” on which John Anderson lends his distinctive vocal. A track laced with fiddle and heaps of twang. “He made "Authentic,” well....authentic! said Steele referring to the age 62-year old Florida native singer-songwriter.

With its gentle piano opening there’s a beautiful quality to the heartbreaker and soul searcher “When Lonely Calls” which soars and builds. 
With the additional strings in the mix and a standout vocal offering a necessary hurtful vibe this sounds like a modern-day classic, as good times come and drift away and bad times take a hold. 
This is a track Steele gravitates to and is “the most real” sharing “These are pages of my life. Losing my son, battling addiction and demons, and somehow still standing here with a smile”

John Rich (Big & Rich) guests on the pre-grat and lead-off old-school single "Countryholic" (writers Jeffrey Steele, Ira Dean, Shane Minor). 
This infectious raucous, high energy throwback number which may be habit-forming! Its self-explanatory message delivers a toe-tapping stomper deserving of a dance smash. “There ain’t no cure for a Countryholic,” sings Steele, cautioning:

 “If you see him in a boot store, get him on home / Don’t leave him in the truck with the radio on / Don’t tell him ‘bout the county fair, corn dog, tractor pull and all the dosey-doin’ goin’ on down there”.

Country greats Haggard, Willie, Waylon, and Hank Williams Sr. are suitably name-checked on the barnstorming track which musically recalls Dwight Yoakam and BR549.

"'Countryholic' is a 100 proof honky-tonk song that will make you want to holler yee-haw!" shared Steele. "That song is icing on the cake of a project three years in the making with an all-star cast of musicians and guests who are all helping to capture an era in music that seems to have vanished." With a mission statement to create good, honest and fun country music this ticks all the boxes!

Official music video for Sons Of The Palomino's debut single "Countryholic":

The slowly cinematic Outta This Town rocks some nostalgic dreamy storytelling (stealing innocent kisses, weddings and a funeral) with Emmylou Harris adding a delicate, haunting and tasteful harmony – Wonderful stuff.

The penning of the magnificent “Lie” tips a classic nod to iconic country songs. An observational song, it’s inspired by the love of Steeles’ life lying on a bed. It captures a beautiful moment of a guy realizing he is powerless over his girl’s mere presence” with closing words: Don’t give up, don’t go nowhere, don’t do nothing, just lay right there and lie, I love it when you lie. Don’t change the story don’t change the tune, your bodies a temple and I see the truth, when you lie, I love it when you lie.

The pace quickens on the entertaining down-home chug-a-long Independent Trucker depicting the life on the road which allows a crack band to break free.

Sons of The Palomino performing "Independent Trucker" at Music City Roots Live From The Factory on Oct 2, 2016:



The laidback bluesy “Whiskey Years,” features Jamey Johnson accompanied by Steele on piano. Squeezing out the hurt this acoustic guitar-driven hardcore full on country ballad hits the emotional jackpot recalling a man looking beyond crazy wild ways and mistakes: But who am I trying to fool / I’m still going through my whiskey years

Where the beers ice cold and the lights are low, Hole In The Wall with its beachy easy style is something you could easily imagine gracing a Jimmy Buffet record.

The slowly “Unbroken People” a social commentary score, oozes pain when trying to come to terms with loss underpinned by a weeping steel.

Gretchen Wilson joins in the fun (with a humorous dig at Music City) on the Friday night honky-tonk fuelled "Used to be a Country Town" that should have country lovers hitting the dancefloor to burn it up all night long! Woo!

With signature licks Vince Gill empathises with Steele on the classy last-call lament “Nobody Does Lonely” and the 47 minute countryholic journey ends with Old Roads and Lost Highways as a steel gently drifts across the landscape.

Summing up the project, which I personally hope is the first of many, Steele shares: I think ultimately the hope is that the music captures the period and that the songs hold up as great songs. To sum it all up, that it inspires a little bit of, ‘do it for the joy’ and watch what happens!

He is not wrong there! For those who have tired of the bland, samey Nashville Pop/Rock sausage machine sheen this welcome gem is exactly what the doctor ordered and more. There are no fillers, unearth it and lap up the country goodness.

Country Routes

They come in all ages #Countryholics
Posted by Sons of the Palomino on Tuesday, 13 June 2017

What others are saying:
 "I think this will go down a storm, admit it how many of you would call yourself a  Countryholic?. Heard that thought got to play that, excellent – Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire.

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