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Thread: Cass County Reviews

  1. #41
    Stuck on the Border Jonny Come Lately's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cass County Reviews

    I’ve finally got around to listening to the album from start to finish this weekend so I thought now would be a good time to post my Cass County review. I’d already listened to the songs individually but for me there is no substitute for a front-to-back listen when reviewing an album, especially a new one – I never quite know if a song I previously didn’t rate much will grow on me, or if a song with instant appeal fades quickly.

    I’m happy to say that my review is mostly positive. Although I am a rock fan at heart, I do quite like country music (at least, traditional country) as a genre – it strongly favours an organic style and quite often places a lot of emphasis on the lyrics. Things that I find lacking in most contemporary ‘pop’ music, to say the least (I say ‘pop’ as I mean the stuff that’s in the charts, not the whole spectrum of popular music). Don’s vocals are great throughout the album, I think his voice has ‘weathered’ very nicely indeed and suits the album's music and lyrics perfectly.

    (I should clarify now that I have the Deluxe Edition with 16-tracks and I have reviewed the tracks more or less in sequence order, so I won’t cover the two Target-exclusive songs).

    I will start by saying that I think the album’s opening four tracks are wonderful. The pedal steel intro to Bramble Rose is great because it is a clear statement of intent that this is a true traditional country album – no dubstep or rap segments here! As for Bramble Rose itself, I love it. It works perfectly with the three singers. I have to say I really like Miranda Lambert’s vocal on the second verse. I wasn’t sure whether Mick Jagger’s voice would work with the other two, but it does and I like his harmonica playing too. The Cost of Living keeps the standard up, a strong lyric and Don and Merle's voices play off each other well. It was great that he was able to get in such a country legend on his album. It does remind me a bit of Mark Knopfler’s Everybody Pays, partly due to the chorus. I almost always love Don’s social commentary ‘rant’ songs, and happily No, Thank You is no exception. Vince Gill does a great job with the guitar and vocals too. Waiting Tables is a great piece of storytelling. You do feel for the woman in the song. I saw an article someone posted the other day said that this was considered by the Eagles, which doesn’t surprise that much as I noticed that Tim is credited as one of the four co-writers. I’d be interested to know what his involvement was.

    I really like Take A Picture Of This. Great chorus and I love the lyrics. My only (slight) criticism is that it loses some of the traditional country sound of the first four tracks, although this does give it a slightly more anthemic feel. I’ll mention Too Far Gone and The Brand New Tennessee Waltz together as they are both nice songs. Neither is a particular stand out but they’re both pretty likeable. That Old Flame is I think one of the least ‘traditional’ country songs on the album, in the intro I half expect the rocking power chords of James Dean to enter. It’s another strong lyric and the combination of Don and Martina McBride works very well. I do like Words Can Break Your Heart quite a lot, especially the lyrics in the second verse (‘Cutting words from careless lips, softly spoken’) – very cleverly written.

    I can’t say I was overly enamoured by the idea of a duet with Dolly Parton (her voice isn’t my cup of tea) but I have to say When I Stop Dreaming pleasantly surprised me. It’s still not one of my favourites, but I was only tempted to skip when Dolly was singing alone. The song itself is absolutely fine and with a different female singer I’d probably like it a lot. I think Praying For Rain is one of the best songs, it’s a got a great chorus and I think the tone of the lyrics and vocals is just right – he sounds desperate without going over the top. NMB commented that at one stage Don does a Bob Dylan impression, and I’d agree with that, it is somewhat reminiscent of Bob’s voice in the Blonde On Blonde era in particular. Maybe if he got time he also wanted to pray that he didn’t get stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues (again).

    Too Much Pride isn’t one of my favourites, but it isn’t my least favourite either. It does feel a little bluesy, which I quite like. I’m sorry to say I found She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune a bit disappointing. I’m not really sure what attracted Don to this particular song, as those aren’t his words. I can see the comparison with Norwegian Wood, but as a whimsical piece it leaves me cold – I’m afraid it makes me go ‘what the heck?’ rather than making me smile.

    I adore Train in the Distance, which is my personal favourite. I love the lyrics, which cover virtually a whole life cycle and the solo in the middle is absolutely wonderful – it feels like a more melancholy take of the Peaceful Easy Feeling solo, which is some compliment. I think a Younger Man is very touching, and really quite heartbreaking. The album ends strongly with Where I Am Now. In In a funny way it reminds me of Tryin’ – a short, to the point and rocking album closer with a positive message.

    So where does it stack up compared to other Henley solo albums? listened to The End of the Innocence in full yesterday, and while I do like Cass County a lot, I have to say I still think EOTI stands as Don’s best solo work. I actively enjoy listening to the political and especially social commentary side of Don’s music and therefore EOTI is made great to me not just by the hits, but also by songs like Little Tin God and If Dirt Were Dollars. Still, as I said earlier, I’m a rock guy at heart, so it doesn’t surprise me. Yet, I do prefer the organic style of CC to the synthesiser-heavy music that makes up much of Building The Perfect Beast. Also, this album has a timeless sound which I think will age well, IMO certainly better than the album tracks on BTPB. FWIW, I don’t know ICSS very well, and must admit I have never heard anything from Inside Job (the Henley compilation I own is Actual Miles, rather than The Very Best Of).

    Finally, I have to thank Soda and Dreamer for so kindly posting this album all the way to me across the pond. Thank you so much, I’ve really enjoyed listening to it so far! As you can see, I like most of the songs on the album, and there are several which I rate very highly.

  2. #42
    Moderator Ive always been a dreamer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cass County Reviews

    Glad we were able to get a copy of Cass County to you, JCL. That was your prize for participating in the HotE 'Who said that?' contest.

    I enjoyed reading your review, although it's funny because our opinions are almost polar opposites about a few of the songs. I usually wait to post my full song-by-song review of the guy's new solo albums around the 1st year anniversary.

    "People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
    Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016

  3. #43
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cass County Reviews

    Thanks for that detailed and interesting review!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  4. #44
    Moderator Brooke's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cass County Reviews

    JCL, thanks for your review! I really enjoyed your analysis of it and I find I agree with you on most songs.
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    "They will never forget you 'till somebody new comes along"
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