Chris Leigh & The Broken Hearts - Broken Hearted Friends

Chris Leigh & The Broken Hearts – Broken Hearted Friends
2013, Blue River

Chris Leigh was born and raised in Kentucky, the eighth of ten children in a devout religious family.  As a teenager Leigh broke the mold, hitch-hiking to California to try and make it in the music business.  Returning home to Kentucky several years later, Leigh settled down to family life and a 9-5 job.  After eighteen years Leigh’s marriage came to an end, and he picked up his guitar again to try and make sense of it all.  What started out as therapeutic has become cathartic, with Leigh diving back into the music world with some of the edgiest classic-country music being made today.  Chris Leigh’s debut album, Broken Hearted Friends, is ready to take the country music world by storm.

Leigh kicks things off with the title track, an amusing piece of tragic-comedy about heartbreak turning into camaraderie.  Leigh manages to create a bit of classic sounding country with a rock and roll flavor that’s very appealing.  “Broken Hearted Friends” feels like an instant hit.  “Like I Love You Forever” is an optimistic love song that wastes no time getting to the point.  The chorus plays more like a bridge in this anachronistic little tune, but Leigh catches and holds the listener’s attention with an original style and a catchy backbeat.  Leigh plumbs the depths of country heartache on “If You Make It to Heaven”, with the caricature of a man struggling with issues of loneliness and faith.  It’s a well-written tune that’s more about the human condition than about any particular religion, and offers keen insight into the struggle to find happiness.

“Ramblin’ Man” finds Leigh telling a cautionary tale about life on the road and temporary liaisons.  One particular liaison with a southern belle turns into a nightmare for the protagonist here, and Leigh soups up the experience with a breakneck arrangement that you simply can’t sit still through.  “Heartache and Misery” bemoans a man’s tendency to fall into relationships with no future; a classic country tale of romantic woe set to a killer arrangement.  The guitar licks here are so sharp they are dangerous, culled as they are from the Chet Atkins school of guitar.  Honky-tonk piano takes the lead on “Who’s That”, a diatribe on his sweetie finding a new Facebook friend.  Leigh brings country music thematically into the digital age with a classic arrangement that’s as tight as can be. 

“Money” explores material wealth as a relationship with a flighty partner, as bad decisions lead to expected results.  Everyone but the narrator can the inevitability of the outcome in this story song, flipping the tragic with the nearly comic.  “Here We Go Again” is a kiss off song based on a partner’s tendency to hook up his friends.  No matter how many times it happens he keeps taking her back, only to be surprised when she strays again.  The guitar work here is excellent, as Leigh crafts a near-perfect 2 ½ minute piece of old-school country-pop.  “The Ballad of Bobbie Sue” is a languorous lament, clocking in at 5:39.  Heartbreak is the central theme here, with her heartbreak become his with time.  Leigh closes with the rockabilly strains of “Whiskey River”, which is a thematic cousin of the Willie Nelson song of the same name.  The tune is as catchy as you can ask for, with a chorus that will stick in your head for days.

Chris Leigh & The Broken Hearts mine a classic country sound with well-written songs and an enigmatic lead vocal style that will sit well with modern country radio while also pleasing fans of traditional country.  It’s hard to imagine CMT and other major outlets not catching on to Leigh’s sound and making him a star, but stranger things have happened in the music business.  If the sound on Broken Hearted Friends is any indication, you need to catch Leigh’s act live if he comes to your town.  Elements of Garth Brooks, Hank Williams Jr. and Luther Wright blend here to make what should be a knock-out live performance.  As it is, you’ll be playing Broken Hearted Friends again and again.

Rating:  4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.chrisleighmusic.com. 

Big Tobacco & The Pickers - Big Tobacco & The Pickers

Big Tobacco & The Pickers - Big Tobacco & The Pickers

2010, Big Tobacco & The Pickers

Big Tobacco & The Pickers are a Southern Ontario-based sextet that blends the outlaw country of Johnny, Merle, Waylon and Willie with the folk/rock sensibilities of The Band and occasionally the offbeat feel of Luther Wright & The Wrongs.  Songs of hard living, hard drinking and occasional forays over the line of legality are the order of the day, delivered in a no-nonsense manner that is full of the charisma of lead vocalist Jamie Oliver.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers, the band's self-titled debut, delivers on the promise of the band's live shows, and announces Big Tobacco & The Pickers as one of the bright new stars on the alt-country horizon.

Big Tobacco & The Pickers open with “The Drunker You Get”, a musical take on the classic joke about the quality of the band’s music in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed.  Vocalist Jamie Oliver shows tremendous charisma and showmanship, and the band matches him step for step.  “Whispering Palms” is a northern-dweller’s lament missing his home in the south.  The song has a nice, classic-country feel, like something you might have heard on country radio a generation or two ago.  “Time Ain’t On Your Side” laments the time spent as a young kid/adult ‘running from the mines’.  It’s a song about big dreams, the wasted pursuits of youth and never quite ending up where you intended.  This particular story/song includes a side bar in prison and a lot of regret, but also a thread of pride and fond remembrance deep beneath the surface.  The arrangement is a thing of beauty, and the vocal harmonies sublime. 

“Return To Sender (Say It Ain’t So)” is a monologue from a man who has been untrue and has been exiled from his marriage and children.  Now he has been served with divorce papers and is suffering the ultimate regret for his past actions.  The song is delivered in a straight-forward country arrangement with a fine melody.  “Lonesome, On’ry And Mean” is pure fun; a likely favorite in the live set.  This is the sort of deep album cut that can become a cult favorite.  “My Own Hell” is about two lost souls drinking to their misery together. He somehow shows enough judgment, however, to leave her sleeping on the bar rather than going home with her and making things worse.  It’s a sorrowful but pragmatic turn that’s a bit atypical for popular music in any genre.  “No Good Gal” is pure singer/songwriter/country about a lady who is nothing but trouble.  Three years in and he’s finally moving on, but the tongue-in-cheek story telling makes it clear she’s been nothing but trouble.

“I’m Fine” is all about getting over true love.  Set to a waltz, he acknowledges not being over her, but consoles himself with women, whiskey and the road.  “Livin’ By Rolling The Dice” is catchy, bluesy rock n roll; an outlaw country tune with a classic rock pedigree.  This one’s a lot of fun, a sure-fire hit in Big Tobacco & The Pickers’ live shows.  “Beans For Breakfast” sounds like something that might have grown out of a jam session between Johnny Cash and Luther Wright.  It’s a tongue-in-cheek song about a man living on the dregs of life.  “The Legend Of Ma Barker” is a great story song about the notorious maven and her criminal activities.  Edgy and entertaining, this is the sort of song that will inspire whoops and hollers in a southern bar on a Saturday night.  It’s flat out great songwriting and a sharp performance.    “Big Tobacco & The Pickers” closes with “Sing Me Back Home”, commemorating the power of music to take us back in space and time to home.  It’s a touching and heartfelt tune without a bit of schmaltz. 

Big Tobacco & The Pickers are the real deal.  Mixing elements of classic country, southern rock and down home, self-deprecating humor, Big Tobacco & The Pickers have created an album that stands on its own.  Vocalist Jamie Oliver is personality plus, selling every song as if his life depends on it, and the band is as tight and interconnected as you could hope for.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers has one or two slow moments, but overall is a great reminder of what country music was meant to be.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more about Big Tobacco And The Pickers at www.myspace.com/bigtobaccoandthepickersband.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.