Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not the world’s biggest
\ncountry music fan. There are a few country artists whose work I
\nlike a lot, but I just haven’t developed a big appetite for this
\ngenre of music. (If anything, doing this site has expanded my
\npalate for country music; I’ve heard many artists over the last two
\nyears whose work I have enjoyed immensely.)<\/p>\n
Then, along comes Billy Joe Shaver and his son Eddy. I swear,
\nthese two are hell-bent on converting me to a country music
\nafficionado. Their last album
\nVictory<\/i>, was an acoustical country wonder that surprised me
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
It is rare when I say of any artist that they’ve done it again.
\nThis is one of those times: Shaver have done it again with
\nElectric Shaver<\/i>, an album that is a merge of folk,
\ncountry… and even a little rock and roll. Simply put, it’s a
\nmasterpiece.<\/p>\n
Where
\nVictory<\/i> was a folk-country religious revival tale of a man
\nwho had been in the lowest depths of his life and is given one more
\nchance,
\nElectric Shaver<\/i> is a celebration from note one to the very
\nend of life and its highs and lows. From the inspirational (“Try
\nAnd Try Again”) to the more cynical (“You Wouldn’t Know Love (If
\nYou Fell In It)”, Billy Joe and Eddy Shaver – along with the rest
\nof the band – capture the listener fro the start and refuse to let
\ngo until the final note has faded out.<\/p>\n
Let’s assume, for a moment, that I worked at a country radio
\nstation. Let’s also assume that I had the courage to pick
\nElectric Shaver<\/i> up from the inbox and give it a spin. Let’s
\nfinally assume that I heard the track “People And Their Problems,”
\ndecided this could be the next “Friends In Low Places”, and gave it
\nserious airplay. What’s my point? Simple: This particular track is
\na helluva lot of fun to listen to, and has all the makings of a
\n“hit single”… that is, if it were given a fair chance. I’m
\nchallenging all country radio stations right now: Put this song on
\nin at least medium rotation, and watch the boards light up. You’ll
\nthank me later.<\/p>\n
For that matter, “Leanin’ Toward The Blues” is a number that
\nerases all the boundaries between country, rock and blues, and is a
\nrollicking good time that I didn’t want to end.<\/p>\n
But country is still the heart of Shaver, and they don’t
\ndisappoint in the least. “Heart To Heart,” “I’ll Be Here” and
\n“Slave At The Feet Of The Queen” all shine, occasionally reminding
\nme of the style of Hank Williams, Sr. If you were to ask me if
\nthere was a weak track on this album, I’d answer, “No.”<\/p>\n
\nElectric Shaver<\/i> is an album that did one thing that I didn’t
\nthink was quite possible: it turned out to be a better album than
\nVictory<\/i>. You might have to search this album out, but it’s
\nwell worth the hassle. Rip off the shrinkwrap, put the phone on
\nhold for 45 minutes, and kick back with one of the best country
\nalbums I’ve ever listened to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7412],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-39013","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-shaver","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39013"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}