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.

Hot Water Music - No Division

Hot Water Music broke up in 1996. But unless you were a serious fan, you wouldn’t have known it; at their farewell show, recorded as the 1999 Live at the Hardback album, they announced that they were gonna keep the band going after all. And it’s a good thing they did, as the Gainesville quartet ended up recording a string of incredible albums.

If you want to get a listing of the band’s discography, go to Punknews.org and comment asking which Hot Water Music album is the best. You’ll be treated to a LOT of comments, and every album the band released will be mentioned at some point in the (very long) thread. However, if you take the average, you’ll probably end up with two of their albums coming out on top: 1998′s Fuel for the Hate Game, and 1999′s No Division.

One thing a listener will notice about this album is that, for a band so loved by punk rock kids, and tagged as hardcore/post-hardcore, the tempos never approach the blistering speeds of hardcore bands like Minor Threat or Bad Brains. The music here is more tuneful, and concerned about establishing melody. I think it’s significant that the bass is very distinct in opener “Southeast First.” Not to say the music is slow. Yes, there’s distortion, and the guitars certainly power along at a fair clip.

Vocals here are traded off between guitarists Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard. Chuck Ragan’s voice is very distinctive; his hoarse barks are immediately recognizable, whereas Wollard’s voice has a smoother quality to it. The differences between the two are highlighted at the moments when the two sing together, such as on “Radio Free Gainesville.” It creates another interesting texture the band works with. Most songs on the album contain vocals from both singers (later albums would see each singer taking songs pretty much on their own).

There are a lot of excellent songs on here. Not all are ready to incite a mosh, but that’s not always the point (blasphemy!). The title track, the songs mentioned above, “Rooftops” (later covered on HWM’s excellent split with Alkaline Trio), among others all shine. The remaining songs are all very good, too; this is an excellent front-to-back album. Not as pop-friendly overall as their albums could be (see: Caution), but this is an excellent starting point for those looking to get into Hot Water Music’s catalog.

Various Artists - All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash

Now, I think we can all agree that tribute albums are hit-or-miss affairs, at best; often, the albums are terrible, and offer no compelling evidence to justify their existences. How many times have you listened to a tribute album to an artist you like and not come away thinking “I’d have rather had this as a ‘Greatest Hits’ package?” I bet it’s a handful. We’re not even going to talk about genre/era “tributes,” since more often than not those are just “hip” bands making ironic covers that they think are HI-LARIOUS. (Notable example: the late’90s Metaliska album. That shit was so good)

And it’s with that in mind that one enters into this, Anchorless Records’ (based out of Allston, MA!) tribute to Johnny Cash. They’ve assembled a punk-centric collection of artists like the Bouncing Souls, the Gaslight Anthem, Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music), MxPx, the Loved Ones, and others, along with local favorites gone national, the Dresden Dolls. So the talent is strong, not a bunch of rookie bands looking to make a name for themselves with an ironic cover of a classic. Remember how well that worked out for Alien Ant Farm?

The songs here are all quality, of course; Johnny Cash had a great catalog of songs, and this is a fine sampling of the man’s material. And the interpretations do a good job of mixing styles. Some of them play the songs truer to the originals than others; while Chuck Ragan’s largely-acoustic take on “Wreck of the Old ’97″ is a straight version, MxPx do a great pop-punk version of “Hey Porter.” And the Gaslight Anthem’s sound is well-suited to “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” The Dresden Dolls’ “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” is a definite highlight, their inherent theatricality (almost entirely due to Amanda’s voice) along with some wonderful instrumentation and backing vocals, makes the song their own.

Not all of the songs here work as well or are as memorable as those mentioned above, but all in all, the covers here are solid, and are very enjoyable. It’s clear that the artists involved aren’t playing the songs with a sly wink and a smirk on their faces, but actually respect and enjoy the original works. This album is a worthwhile listen for fans of Johnny Cash, or any of the bands involved.

Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge

Chuck Ragan is probably, hopefully, known to many as one of the lead singers and guitarists for Gainesville’s beloved post-hardcore quartet Hot Water Music. Since that group disbanded back in 2006 (though they have been playing a few reunion shows here and there in 2008), the members have gone onto other projects; Chuck Ragan releasing a number of acclaimed acoustic solo albums in a country/buegrass vein, and the remainder of the band performing as The Draft. Austin Lucas might be a name unfamiliar to some. He’s played in a few punk bands over the years, and released some well-received folk/bluegrass albums. With a solid backing band (including Lucas’s father), they got together to record Bristle RIdge.

First of all, if you’re coming to this album having only listened to Hot Water Music, you’re in for a surprise. This album owes more to the bluegrass traditions of American roots music than to the punk and post-hardcore of HWM’s career. For the modern listener, think of the song “A Man of Constant Sorrow” from the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? and you’ll get a good idea of the musical tone on this record.

The band is extremely competent, and provide great backing to Ragan and Lucas’s vocals. The vocals themselves are phenomenal; Ragan has his trademark growl, but as any HWM fan will tell you, it has smoothed with age, and it is in superb form here. In opener “Bloody Shells,” it perfectly suits the grim tale told. It also contrasts well with Lucas’s smoother delivery. He shines on tracks like the upbeat “Bells” and the somber “Sun or Snow.” Much of the subject matter is dark, which keeps in the spirit of many folk songs from the early century. They offer fairly frank outlooks on mortality and life.

This is one of the more compelling releases of the year. Truly delightful and true-to-the-spirit roots/bluegrass music that should appeal to fans of the genre, and fans of the singer/songwriters in question.

Rating: 4 stars