I was once fortunate enough to talk to the Kentucky Headhunters legend, Richard Young (dad of Black Stone Cherry’s John Fred) on the phone. He was telling me about the family farm, and we got to why they’d never toured over here (at that point, thEy have since) and he told me about his crippling fear of flying. I could empathise. I have it too, and when I concurred, he said “hang on there, Andy, I’ll be back.” And about 5 minutes later, he duly was, with his wife and they both told me about the medication that had cured him. He text me later on to tell me that when I was “over it”, I must go to visit them in Kentucky. He might have been the nicest fella on planet earth (he really was), but there’s a wider point here: Whenever you meet, or speak to anyone from the southern states they always are.
It doesn’t matter whether it was Whiskey Myers or Kenny Wayne Sheppard (both of whom I have been privileged to meet) they are always polite, respectful, cheery and brilliant company.
All of which – to get to the point – is re-enforced every time you listen to a “southern rock” song. They are always so proud of where they are from, so idyllic does it sound. They might have moved away, it seems, but they never leave.
You could say it was rose tinted specs, but no one as far as I know, eulogises about where I am from like that. There’s no song called “The Green, Green Grass Of Solihull” is all I am saying.
“County Roads” is full of it, full of the imagery. It seems carved out of the southern clay. The title track is magnificent. Eric Church would kill for the line “I had a fox body Mustang, she had a body like a dream,” for goodness sake, and by the way, the stamp of EC himself ís all over this utterly glorious song.
This is Elvie Shane’s debut six songs, but the man himself says: “I’m a product of small town America and County Roads is the raw, honest truth about my life.” And across these tracks, you really do feel like you know him.
The story goes that he was born on a Sunday in the quiet town of Leitchfield, KY (see there was a point to that intro, y’all…..) in the Baptist Bible Belt, and if this is his life, then you feel like he might be brilliant company. “Keep On Strumming” contains the blue collar spirit that is all over the EP. “I was born and raised American tough” but also the sheer love for his craft: “I work hard, sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don’t, but I play anyway….” Echoes of the aforementioned Eric Church and his classic “That’s Damn Rock N Roll”, then all power to them. Plus it mentions Springsteen and Tom Petty, lyrics so bonus points.
“Sunday’s In The South” underlines the credentials with the wonderful words: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that makes a redneck just like me”. Proud, happy, content. And it doesn’t half sound like Brothers Osborne.
An interesting point about all of these is that Shane is the co-writer of each. Therefore there is a suggestion that the sweet, “My Boy” might come from the heart, and catchy? You’ve no idea! One listen to them and they are long lost friends.
“Sundress” is a real stab at the charts – but from an original place: “her daddy had a shotgun shell with my name on it”, isnt on many hallmark cards, lets be fair, but the second verse does the “Never Say Goodbye” by Bon Jovi thing of what was lost in the back seat (if you catch my drift) and this is the anthem for the kids this summer.
The church organ puts the feel of “My Mississippi” right on a par with something biblical and the cleverness with which it uses the fishing banks as a metaphor can’t be underestimated.
A brilliant EP, Elvie Shane is as bright a star that has emerged in a while, and them “County Roads” are, on this evidence, taking him to the brightest of bright lights.
Rating 9/10
