Guest Review: John Doe

Written By: Sean on April 15, 2009 3 Comments

I’ve been wanting to experiment with guest blogs for a while now, especially since Ceci took over temporary site duties a little over a month ago. I’ve always wanted to do more album reviews, but since I’m terrible at them they don’t come out too frequently. Conveniently enough, Keath volunteered with a few reviews, killing two birds with one stone! Enjoy his first album review below and keep en eye out for future reviews!

John Doe is often graded on a different scale by virtue of being, well, John Doe. There will be a segment of the listening public who will adore this simply because Doe is finally making good on long simmering fan desires to see him throw down a straight country album. Turns out they have good reason to be, if not adoring, at least flirtatiously interested.

“Country Club” is pure old school country, which is to say it aspires beyond today’s current definition of pop with a fiddle and funny lyrics. Backed by respected Canadian band The Sadies, Doe shows a deft feel for the soulful, ragged voice of country’s roots, singing his way on a slow-footed shuffle through a graveyard’s worldview.

Not that Doe and the Sadies don’t pick it up a notch here and there – “Stop The World And Let Me Off” and “Take These Chains From My Heart” have plenty of country swing. These are the exceptions though – the majority of tracks sound like they were wrung out of the bartender’s dirty rag after the honky tonk closed down for the night. It’s atmospheric, often downbeat, dripping with stale cigarettes, flat beer, and broken hearts.

At a robust 15 tracks, the album is stocked mostly with covers of country legends like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. The Sadies, in addition to their pitch perfect playing, contribute 3 original tracks (“Before I Wake” and 2 instrumentals). Doe and long time collaborator Exene Cervenka add their own contribution, “It Just Dawned On Me,” which fits so covertly in the flow that you’ll be unaware it’s recent writing until you start browsing the songwriting credits. Sounds far fetched? Stream the album below and judge for yourself.

So is it worth buying? I think so, for a myriad of reasons: for some this will be a first time with classic country songs that are well worth the introduction, others will enjoy getting to see Doe stretch beyond his punk forte. Mostly, this is one where you want to put both earphones in and get lost in this alternate musical world, where X is the side band and John Doe is keeping country’s roots alive.

Recommended listening: ‘Stop The World And Let Me Off’, ‘(Now And Then) There’s A Fool Such As I’