Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Chuck Ragan - Gold Country

So I’m sitting here listening to this album, thinking about how much I like it, and I realize that I never posted about it here. Which is a shame, because it’s a great album that deserves to be talked about!

Obviously, you now already know how I feel about it. Like any good bearded .Org-lurker, I have a deep love for the works of Mr. Chuck Ragan. Hot Water Music made some incredible records (Fuel For the Hate Game and A Flight and a Crash in particular), and his post-HWM solo albums and collaboration with Austin Lucas (Bristle Ridge) have represented a fairly dramatic stylistic shift, but one that really lets his deep, rich voice shine, and allows his excellent songwriting to come through.

Gold Country opens up with the statement of purpose that is “For Goodness Sake,” starting with just Chuck and his guitar, and building on that with fiddle and drums as the song progresses, and leads perfectly into the bouncy, almost rowdy “Glory.” Some of you might remember this song from Chuck’s split 7″ with The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, Gospel Songs. Chuck’s own spirituality is not something he hides, and clearly it influences his solo material, as “Glory” shows, for the better; it’s something he is passionate about, and that passion propels the music. You might not share his faith, but that’s ok.

The music on this album has more of an old-timey country feel than that found on Feast or Famine, his previous solo outing. In a way, it seems more of a continuation of Chuck’s contributions to Bristle Ridge, which makes sense, though in general more uptempo than that record.

Of course, when he slows it down, things get really interesting and memorable. Smack in the middle of the record, “Don’t Say a Word” reminds me of one of the slower songs Nick Cave might have put on The Lyre of Orpheus, in particular “Carry Me.” A couple of songs later, “Ole Diesel” opens with an ominous fiddle before a a mournful piano plays underneath Chuck.

Chuck Ragan here has made another solid solo album, 180° from his work with Hot Water Music, but just as satisfying. Unlike his work with HWM, though, where the actual words were often lost in the screamed vocals and loud guitars, the focus here is on Chuck’s stories, and the album delivers. If you’re a fan of classic folk/country, you should look into Chuck Ragan’s solo work, and this is an excellent starting point. Similar- and superior, I would say- to Greg Graffin’s excellent Cold as the Clay record from a few years back.

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