
Chris Stapleton - Traveller
By: George Peden, Staff Journalist
Living in Australia has its benefits. But it also has its downsides, like not getting to see the CMA Awards until well after the event. Sitting front row of my TV, watching the blinding bling, the wanabees, and the duos, and bands, and hit sellers, parading as country was sad. But in the sea of sequins, blonde trusses and polished enamel, the kind that makes a dentist rejoice, there was a highlight. Right there on my TV, hope ambled onto the stage with a big ol’ hat and an attitude shaped with down home humility.
However, on a night when it was all about the music, I add with a naughty smile, a country picker with road worn miles and years of honky tonk weariness proved to Nashville heavies sometimes the wrong place at the right time proves interesting.
As I write this, Chris Stapleton sits perched at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart. Finally, with a great degree of relief, country music, real country music, is getting a wholesome nod. It seems the masses are turning back to what one divorced highflier called music made by old farts and jackasses. Could Stapleton be the driving stake into the heart of Bro Country? I sure hope so.
This Kentucky hit maker -- Darius Rucker's “Come Back Song," Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More" (and others) all bare his ink -- shows a real, raw and honest gristle on his outstanding debut.
Many of Stapleton’s creative 37 years have spent time in, near or on the Nashville radar. Insiders knew he had the mettle, but overturning needs and wants of labels, those with an agenda of sales being the yardstick, was hard.
There is an irony in looking to Stapleton as “new” or his music as a “debut outing.” His album, Traveller, with its fourteen tracks of classic country is a case of an apprenticeship solidly served. So often, the overnight success pushes aside the tip jar life of hard gigs and long nights and miles with a wearied sameness.
His “fame” is a modern case of wait and watch. While Nashville groomed a new diva, shaped a new hat, or chased and promoted music with the shelf life of a single, Stapleton made way for the rush. He waited. He played. He crafted. Time and his patience have paid off. As the shy talent recently told a TV audience, (I’ll) still get the gigs…they’ll just be in bigger venues now.
Many in-the-know have raved about the album. They’re right. A perfect showcase to song writing, producing and Stapleton’s multi-skilled playing (mandolin and guitars) is a voice best described as whiskey soaked and heart ached.
Regret, sadness and lost opportunity are the staples here. There are moments of deep reflection, not polished and cut with a Nashville glint; rather, the honest truth from a songwriter who emotionally connects. The story-telling tunes are life personal and easily understood by those who’ve lived, loved and maybe know the cold comfort of a stool in a lonely corner.
It’s country: pure and simple.
Traveller is out on Mercury Records.
http://www.chrisstapleton.com/
By: George Peden, Staff Journalist
Living in Australia has its benefits. But it also has its downsides, like not getting to see the CMA Awards until well after the event. Sitting front row of my TV, watching the blinding bling, the wanabees, and the duos, and bands, and hit sellers, parading as country was sad. But in the sea of sequins, blonde trusses and polished enamel, the kind that makes a dentist rejoice, there was a highlight. Right there on my TV, hope ambled onto the stage with a big ol’ hat and an attitude shaped with down home humility.
However, on a night when it was all about the music, I add with a naughty smile, a country picker with road worn miles and years of honky tonk weariness proved to Nashville heavies sometimes the wrong place at the right time proves interesting.
As I write this, Chris Stapleton sits perched at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart. Finally, with a great degree of relief, country music, real country music, is getting a wholesome nod. It seems the masses are turning back to what one divorced highflier called music made by old farts and jackasses. Could Stapleton be the driving stake into the heart of Bro Country? I sure hope so.
This Kentucky hit maker -- Darius Rucker's “Come Back Song," Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More" (and others) all bare his ink -- shows a real, raw and honest gristle on his outstanding debut.
Many of Stapleton’s creative 37 years have spent time in, near or on the Nashville radar. Insiders knew he had the mettle, but overturning needs and wants of labels, those with an agenda of sales being the yardstick, was hard.
There is an irony in looking to Stapleton as “new” or his music as a “debut outing.” His album, Traveller, with its fourteen tracks of classic country is a case of an apprenticeship solidly served. So often, the overnight success pushes aside the tip jar life of hard gigs and long nights and miles with a wearied sameness.
His “fame” is a modern case of wait and watch. While Nashville groomed a new diva, shaped a new hat, or chased and promoted music with the shelf life of a single, Stapleton made way for the rush. He waited. He played. He crafted. Time and his patience have paid off. As the shy talent recently told a TV audience, (I’ll) still get the gigs…they’ll just be in bigger venues now.
Many in-the-know have raved about the album. They’re right. A perfect showcase to song writing, producing and Stapleton’s multi-skilled playing (mandolin and guitars) is a voice best described as whiskey soaked and heart ached.
Regret, sadness and lost opportunity are the staples here. There are moments of deep reflection, not polished and cut with a Nashville glint; rather, the honest truth from a songwriter who emotionally connects. The story-telling tunes are life personal and easily understood by those who’ve lived, loved and maybe know the cold comfort of a stool in a lonely corner.
It’s country: pure and simple.
Traveller is out on Mercury Records.
http://www.chrisstapleton.com/