Search - Buddy Jewell :: Tales of the New West

All the Ingredients for a great CD!

Marvin O'Dell | Goodyear, AZ | 07/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I hear a lot of music. In fact, I rarely ever hear an album twice because I have so many to listen to for consideration for airplay. The music I hear ranks from awful to excellent. "Tales of the New West" falls squarely into the "Excellent" bin. The outstanding songwriting of the Coreys and Dennis Kahler coupled with Buddy Jewell's warm and effective vocals and more-than-adequate instrumentation make for a very satisfactory listening experience. After listening to 11 tracks with only "The Downtown Matinee" left, I said, "If this final song is a good one, this will be one of those rare albums where every single song is radio-worthy." And that's exactly what it turned out to be. There are only a few country music albums that come to my mind when I think of those without a single bad cut - Porter Wagoner's "Thin Man From West Plains"; Confederate Railroad's self-titled debut CD; Hugh Moffatt's "Loving You"; Hank Thompson's "Most of All; Emmylou Harris' "Pieces in the Sky"; "The Spectacular Johnny Horton" to name a few off the top of my head. "Tales of the New West" is now added to that list. Upon listening to this CD, one is immediately struck by the creative lyrics. "I Get the Bird" will bring a smile to any mid-westerner like me who has a sense of humor. I would like to have heard five or six more verses for "The Downtown Matinee" - just so all the silver screen cowboys could have had mention. But the song brings quite a wave of nostalgia as it is. One begins to feel like he's actually sitting in front of a big screen while listening to "Pancho Villa's Gold." This is storytelling at its best. As one who has always believed the #1 spot on the charts should be determined more by the strength of the songwriter than the singer, I'm always intrigued when great songwriters like the Coreys and Dennis Kahler come out of the woodwork. We can only hope it won't be long before their work is presented to us again and they receive the commercial success they so deserve."

Terrific songs, terrific vocals!! a winner from start to fin

J. Reno | San Diego | 09/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I get lots of records sent my way, but "Tales of the New West" is a very pleasant surprise. This is a terrific CD that unites some truly outstanding songwriting with the warm, resonant and familiar vocals of Buddy Jewell, who's quite simply one of the best singers in the business.



As most country fans know by now, Buddy was an in-demand Nashville session singer and veteran of the dance hall and honky tonk circuit for years before his recent "overnight rise" to stardom. In peak form on this record, Jewell demonstrates here his seemingly effortless knack for making a song his own, and his versatility is showcased throughout.



But it isn't just Buddy's singing. This record is very well produced, and the songs are stellar.



From the train-whistle fiddle and wonderfully stacked vocals on the opening strains of "Oh, Justine," which is just plain good, to the final evocative "ooh ooh oohs" of the record's showcase cut, "Downtown Matinee," this CD is a top-notch collection of country-pop songs written by California brothers Arthur and Alton Corey and their respective wives, Margie and Sharon, along with Dennis Kahler, a well known Alabama songwriter.



These skilled songwriters have come together to fill "New West" with melodic, wonderfully constructed tunes that, though country, also reveal touches of 70s rock and folk. And Jewell sings all of them with equal skill and heart.



The lyrics throughout are mature, and the choruses stay in your head, but there are a few standouts for me on this record, including "One Time We Cared," a great song with an almost ethereal sound and terrific back vox, and "Silver Wings in the Stars," which features a very cool jangly/folkie vibe slightly reminiscent of the Byrds.



Alternately obvious and subtle, the writers' influences here range from folk-rockers like John Stewart and the aforementioned Byrds to country outlaws like Waylon and Willie to singer-songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot and Jimmy Buffett. There's also a bit of Spanish/Southwest flavor woven throughout ("Pancho Villa's Gold" "Rosa Danced in Verecruz"), that makes it all the more enjoyable for someone like me, who lives just a few miles from the border.



For you traditionalists, there's some old-school honky tonk of which ole Hank himself would approve in "Cold and Lonesome Life," a bit of country swing in "Mama Della," and a nice driving acoustic feel and excellent dobro solo in "So hard to Be Strong," which also contains a poignant lyric.



But the real standout is the final song, "The Downtown Matinee," which would have fit comfortably on an Eagles album circa "Hotel California" or "The Long Run." Recalling the memories two grown bothers share of watching their favorite cowboy heroes on the big screen as kids, "Downtown Matinee" is a beautiful piece with its major 7th chords and effectively sentimental lyrics.



This is a genuinely touching, even gently haunting song that evokes the same kinds of bittersweet feelings as a "Desperado" or "The Last Resort." And it actually sounds a bit like Tim Schmidt or my buddy Randy Meisner singing backing vocals - though I know it isn't.



The only complaint I have is that the fade-out on "Downtown Matinee" doesn't last a little longer. The "ooh ooh oohs" here are the most musical moments on the entire record, and I just wanted a few more of them. Sometimes, songwriters just shouldn't listen to the oppressive advice of anal-retentive, chart-obesessed songwriting teachers or pain-in-the-ass radio consultants, who say a song has to be just 3 minutes or so.



When a tune is this good, it should last. Ironically, this song recalls a time when records were called "albums" and made of vinyl, and the best songs on those albums lasted 6 or 7 minutes. It would have been entirely appropriate if "Downtown Matinee" had been a little more epic in nature. It's a song that begs to be longer than three and 1/2 minutes. But hey, this didn't change my mind about this record, which is a winner from start to finish."