Hank Williams III
Straight To Hell
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Hank Williams III
Straight To Hell
BRUC, 2006
RiYL: Robbie Fulks, The Original Hank |
Now, perhaps I overstated things a bit; after all, it was early February and I was desperate for some good music. The dead of winter will do that to you, what with the cold and gray skies and what not.
Hank III hit the spot, as they say. The hell-raising son of Hank Williams’ son put together a collection of tracks that can only be described as pure country chaos.
Imagine waking up to NPR’s Stained Glass Bluegrass with a hangover from hell and you’ll know what Hank sounds like. Trust me, that’s not a bad thing; it’s a sound few true rebel country singers have achieved, and Hank has it down pat.
My guess is listening to Hank III speedball his way through country/bluegrass is a bit like what it was like listening to the Pogues burst through traditional Irish folk songs at breakneck speed 20 years ago.
From the opening steel-guitar soaked “Satan Is Real/Straight To Hell” to the rousing closer “Angel Of Sin,” Hank III is in fine form throughout.
And the musicianship on the record is second-to-none. In the press materials sent out with the CD, Hank remarked that he spent most of his money on the session players and cheaped out on the studio.
Well, let’s just say it was a wise investment. The record is superbly produced and sounds like a gothic country record should -- dark, gloomy and full of strings. The fiddle, pedal steel and picking is tremendous throughout -- Hank Sr. would be proud.
The problem I have with the album is its repetition. While I know all the country greats are guilty of writing the same songs over and over again, Hank III takes this to a whole new extreme on Straight To Hell.
Nearly each song is in the same key and if the listener can’t pick up on Hank’s anti-Nashville theme by, say, the third song, then the album is on mute.
While his rants against Nashville and “pop country music” are refreshing and humorous at first, they grow a bit weary and juvenile after a few spins.
“I’m here to put the dick in Dixie / The cunt back in country / ‘cause the kind of country I’m hearing nowadays / is a bunch of fuckin’ shit to me / They say that I’m ill-mannered / and that I might self-destruct / but if you know what I’m saying / you’ll know that pop country really sucks,” Hank blurts in “Dick In Dixie.”
Robbie Fulks, in my opinion, wrote the ultimate Nashville-kiss-off song in “Fuck This Town,” so hearing Hank III do it -- over and over again -- gets to be a bit much.
Still, in true Hank form, he does hit one out of the park when he calls out Kid Rock in “Not Everybody Likes Us”:
“Just so you know, so its said in stone / Kid Rock don’t come from where I come from / That’s true he’s a Yank / He ain’t no son of Hank / And if you thought so / Goddamn you’re fuckin’ dumb.”
But not every song flips the proverbial bird to Nashville, as at least three are strong paeans to his country heroes like George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and, of course, Hank I.
And a few others recount Hank III’s hell-raising, such as “Pills I Took” and “My Drinkin’ Problem,” a clever ode to the real cause of his penchant for the bottle.
“My drinkin’ problem left today / She packed up all her things / and walked away / It looks like off the bottle / is where I’m gonna stay / because my drinkin’ problem left today,” he snarls.
Straight To Hell is not for the faint of heart; it is a blunt instrument smashing through the static of pop country and makes no apologies. Warts and all, the album is about as honest as Hank III could make it, and that’s a good thing.
Is it the best of 2006? Well, the verdict is still out.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.