We’ve been getting a lot of this genre in lately. Cowboy Song. Essentially it’s a softer, quieter country music. More like folk music in a lot of ways, but still featuring enough twang to rate high on the Western scale. Cowboy Jack Clement is one of the Memphis originators, and although he worked in Nashville for a while, he is not from there. Clement, in another of his personae (Pineapple Jack) offered the following tips for songwriters.
“Remember that experts are often wrong. Experts tend to be narrow and overly opinionated. Experts don’t buy records. There’s nothing wrong with waltzes if they’re played right. A good song gets better with age. Reveal some of yourself with most of your songs. Don’t get stuck on one song too long. Work on other songs as you go. Learn to grow from setbacks, delays, and getting your feelings hurt. Write the worst song you can think of. Write the best song you can think of.”
Is he talking about the experts here at GMR? You haveta wonder. Although we DO buy records. Speaking for myself, I still average a couple a week even with the mailman dropping off review copies by the truckload! Narrow and opinionated? Well … opinionated is what we’re here for. Narrow? Would I be reviewing Cowboy Jack if I was narrow? I think not! The rest I agree with. Only by writing those bad songs can you judge the really good ones. But what about Cowboy Jack himself?
“‘I’ve got a bunch of people who say I’m a genius,’ Cowboy Jack Clement once said. ‘That don’t make me a genius. But you’ve got to be pretty smart to get all them people to say that on cue.’ ” Well that’s sure a clever way of looking at it. The guy knew Elvis when he was a teenager; he worked at Sun Records; he was Chet Atkins’ right-hand man, and discovered Charlie Pride. He also produced records for Townes Van Zandt, John Hartford, Sheb Wooley, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong (!), and U2 (!!), and his songs have been covered by everybody from Ray Charles to Gerry & the Pacemakers, George Jones to Tom Jones! And that’s just scratching the surface of what he’s done.
This album is only 40 minutes long and it features a dozen classic Clement tracks, all newly recorded. And it starts off, believe it or not, with his version of a Rolling Stones song!!! I’m running out of exclamation marks!!! “No Expectations” was a slow blues when the Stones did it on Beggars’ Banquet, but Clements turns it into a honky tonk rocker, with lots of piano, horns and a steady drum beat. Cool! Then he begins the trawl through his back catalogue. The title song, 1958’s “Guess Things Happen That Way,” begins with some gentle steel guitar, then Clements’ voice takes the familiar melody recalled from Johnny Cash’s hit version. Clements is no Cash, but he has a way with a tune all right. Wait a minute … that IS Johnny Cash supplying support! He also appears on “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” and adds a special touch to these two songs.
Other guests include The Jordanaires, Shawn Camp and Billy Burnette among a large group of singers, and a who’s who of musicians. There is not a note out of place on this disc. Clements reclaims “It’ll Be Me” from Jerry Lee Lewis, and adds a couple of new tunes to the mix. I think my favourite song is “S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y” in which all the key words are spelled out. Gotta love these gimmicks.
Does he write good songs? The best he can? You bet! Does he write bad songs? Maybe, but he didn’t put any on this album.
(Dualtone, 2004)
