Royal Wade Kimes- Shadows of Times
Album Review by: George Peden, Staff Journalist
I’m getting older. We all are. But the sad truth is the memories of better times just get lost in the hectic rush of being modern. For example: music; in particular country music. In 2000 George Strait and Alan Jackson nailed it tight. A crime had taken place. There had been Murder on Music Row. The suspects were many and varied, the reasons obvious, and still there are offending returns to the scene of the crime.
It’s sad. Many say tragic. It continues to this day.
Dramatic? Sure! But none-the-less it’s factual. Country music, real country music, has been lost to needed chart placements and tour sell-outs, all aimed at bumper greed. Heck, don’t worry about lyrics or sentiment, and don’t worry about image…the corporate elders will supply all the baseball caps you need, and the tour bus will move a small town. You don’t even have to own a guitar. Move right. Look right. And sing the provided tune and stardom is your next calculated stop. Forget paying dues; there are none.
It’s sad. Many say tragic.
To those who struggle with the hype, good news is at hand: Royal Wade Kimes.
Out now with his 12th album, the former ranch hand for Loretta Lynn has shown again what country music stands for. Shadows of Time (Wonderment Records) has the talented tunesmith – he inked ten of the cuts –in traditional voice and fine lyrical form.
I first stumbled onto RWK in 1997 via Another Man’s Sky (debut album). The velvet growl, the sharp lyrics, honed and performed by a real deal cowboy. Here was a man who had history with outlaws and sheriffs (his family tree reveals a throwback to Ozark mountain bad boys) and he loved nothing better than to sing and write about the tarnished lifestyle.
Across a stellar catalogue of crafted tunes, the writer of “We Bury The Hatchet” for Garth Brooks has delivered on polished music and memorable tales of life seen from the saddle.
There is a calm honesty to the music of RWK. Proof is the lead cut on this latest 12 tracker: the evocative “Wayward Wind.” Covered by many talents, including Patsy Cline, the mood, tempo and THAT voice make this a distinctive standout for trail camps and late night coffee. The suburban commute will also benefit. With a honeyed harmonica and a chorus that blends, the tune is a cowboy staple. RWK’s rendition adds strength to the character of the tune’s sad and lonely tale.
That calm confidence from singing lyrics lived from a cowboy’s perspective charms on this album. Kimes is a welcoming host, as he invites us to live the recorded journey of lost love, hangin’ tight and tough on steeds with other thoughts, and a longing look at places and times when a hard drink and a caring woman meant a life being lived.
If your musical passion extends beyond what Nash Vegas serves up as country, and if you know Merle and you love Willie, and you hunger for honest and real, then discover Royal Wade Kimes. Blessed with an ability to write, paint, sing and play, the man in the hat, the one labelled “The Gentleman Outlaw” keenly earns two thumbs up from me.
Album standouts include “Cut the Line”, the tale of a big, black and branded bull on “Stephenville Heist” and some rear-view nods to lessons learned on “Ride a Bad Hoss.”
Wannabes in hats and dreamers in sequins don’t make country music. Real music comes from paying dues, sweating out the lonely miles of working a career with a tip jar as a reward.
It’s hard. Some say tragic.
But across the shadows of time that’s the way it’s done. Royal Wade Kimes is the proof.
www.royalwadekimes2.com/
I’m getting older. We all are. But the sad truth is the memories of better times just get lost in the hectic rush of being modern. For example: music; in particular country music. In 2000 George Strait and Alan Jackson nailed it tight. A crime had taken place. There had been Murder on Music Row. The suspects were many and varied, the reasons obvious, and still there are offending returns to the scene of the crime.
It’s sad. Many say tragic. It continues to this day.
Dramatic? Sure! But none-the-less it’s factual. Country music, real country music, has been lost to needed chart placements and tour sell-outs, all aimed at bumper greed. Heck, don’t worry about lyrics or sentiment, and don’t worry about image…the corporate elders will supply all the baseball caps you need, and the tour bus will move a small town. You don’t even have to own a guitar. Move right. Look right. And sing the provided tune and stardom is your next calculated stop. Forget paying dues; there are none.
It’s sad. Many say tragic.
To those who struggle with the hype, good news is at hand: Royal Wade Kimes.
Out now with his 12th album, the former ranch hand for Loretta Lynn has shown again what country music stands for. Shadows of Time (Wonderment Records) has the talented tunesmith – he inked ten of the cuts –in traditional voice and fine lyrical form.
I first stumbled onto RWK in 1997 via Another Man’s Sky (debut album). The velvet growl, the sharp lyrics, honed and performed by a real deal cowboy. Here was a man who had history with outlaws and sheriffs (his family tree reveals a throwback to Ozark mountain bad boys) and he loved nothing better than to sing and write about the tarnished lifestyle.
Across a stellar catalogue of crafted tunes, the writer of “We Bury The Hatchet” for Garth Brooks has delivered on polished music and memorable tales of life seen from the saddle.
There is a calm honesty to the music of RWK. Proof is the lead cut on this latest 12 tracker: the evocative “Wayward Wind.” Covered by many talents, including Patsy Cline, the mood, tempo and THAT voice make this a distinctive standout for trail camps and late night coffee. The suburban commute will also benefit. With a honeyed harmonica and a chorus that blends, the tune is a cowboy staple. RWK’s rendition adds strength to the character of the tune’s sad and lonely tale.
That calm confidence from singing lyrics lived from a cowboy’s perspective charms on this album. Kimes is a welcoming host, as he invites us to live the recorded journey of lost love, hangin’ tight and tough on steeds with other thoughts, and a longing look at places and times when a hard drink and a caring woman meant a life being lived.
If your musical passion extends beyond what Nash Vegas serves up as country, and if you know Merle and you love Willie, and you hunger for honest and real, then discover Royal Wade Kimes. Blessed with an ability to write, paint, sing and play, the man in the hat, the one labelled “The Gentleman Outlaw” keenly earns two thumbs up from me.
Album standouts include “Cut the Line”, the tale of a big, black and branded bull on “Stephenville Heist” and some rear-view nods to lessons learned on “Ride a Bad Hoss.”
Wannabes in hats and dreamers in sequins don’t make country music. Real music comes from paying dues, sweating out the lonely miles of working a career with a tip jar as a reward.
It’s hard. Some say tragic.
But across the shadows of time that’s the way it’s done. Royal Wade Kimes is the proof.
www.royalwadekimes2.com/
