Post Description

Op Verzoek.

The songs themselves really grow on you, beginning with the upbeat “Cemetary Road,” which is reminiscent of the gospel sound he was into a couple years ago. But there are plenty of stories of the down and the downtrodden about cheating wives, truckers on amphetamines, singers, crazy women and country music.
 Some of the highlights include the killer murder ballad “Katie.” 

One of the best is “Johnny Cash,” which takes not so subtle aim at fairweather Johnny Cash fans who listened to him now rather than back then when “Johnny’s shows weren’t selling” and asks “where were you in ’89 when it looked like Johnny’s career was in decline … back when you were listening to heavy metal,” as Eaglesmith moans.
 His voice is road weathered and whiskey soaked and mournful.
 The music is pure emotion with hurting steel guitar and tortured guitar solos on “Johnny Cash.”
I also really like “Stars,” on which Eaglesmith reflects on his career on the road, crooning “We played like we were stars… Willie played mandolin and we thought it would never end.”
 

Canada
Roots
Label: Sweetwater


1. Cemetery Road - 2:19
 2. Betty - 2:23
 3. 6 Volts - 2:28
 4. Katie - 3:45
 5. Dangerous - 3:12
 6. Cigarette Machine - 4:33
 7. Johnny Cash - 3:21
 8. Betty Oshawa - 3:36
 9. Stars - 3:16
 10. Been a Long Time - 2:58
 11. Trucker Speed - 5:16


Fred Eaglesmith - Vocals, Guitar
 Justine Fischer - Bass
 Kori Heppner - Drums
 Matty Simpson - Electric Guitar, Banjo, Vocals
 Mike Zinger - Mandolin, Banjo
 Roger Marin - Pedal Steel
 Scott Merritt - Organ, Tambourine, Guitar