Album Review: "Little Songs" by Colter Wall (2023)

 

Artist: Colter Wall

Album: Little Songs

Year: 2023

Genre: Country/Western

Hello everyone and thanks again for reading the CSM blog. Last week I reviewed the massive "Whitsitt Chapel" album by Jelly Roll. An album that in many ways represents the present day and perhaps the future of country music if he indeed decides to stay down that path.  Today's album in many ways is a celebration of country music's past.  The great thing about country music is that there is always room for both traditionalists and the more progressive type artists to succeed.

I don't know much about Colter Wall.  I liked his Facebook page around the time his 2018 album "Songs of the Plains" was released. I remember liking it but I never bought the album so I likely haven't listened to it since. (Again, another reason why I like to buy physical music...)  Thanks to Facebook I was informed by Colter Wall's page on July 14th that he had a new album out so I went on Amazon, bought it and then went on YouTube Music to actually hear it.  Usually, I do that the other way around, but judging an album by it's cover I had a feeling it would be up my alley.

Look at that cover, though.  What you see it what you get. It look like an album cover you'd see of a country artist from the mid 1960's and the music within matches that motif. If I played this record for you and told you it was some forgotten singer-songwriter who got lost in the glitz and glamor of the late 70s, you'd probably believe me up until the fourth song, "The Coyote and the Cowboy" and hear the line "The whiskey bottle costs thirty-two bucks The big prairie moon is free So who is a dumber son of a bitch The little coyote or me?"   Yeah, that's $32 in 2023.  

While listening to this album, I was loving every moment. Colter has a very story-teller way of singing. Something pretty rare these days. The songs are as easy-listening as a cool breeze and as traditional as church on Sunday morning. To be honest, I can't recommend this album for everyone. If you are more of a modern pop-style country fan, you may find this album a little slow and rough for your liking.  Unless my ears deceive me, it almost sounds like Wall didn't even put new strings on his guitar when the first song hits and I'm not complaining one bit about that.  It adds to a nice warm, vintage sound that carries this album throughout. Little Songs sounds like something of a bygone era, but instead of harping on nostalgia for a half hour, what we really find is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. You have to keep in mind, Wall himself is only 28 years old. You are just getting these old stories of a simple, quiet life told through the new youthful lense of someone of this generation and it works wonderfully on this album.

What you get here is a 10 song/32 minute ride of classic country. Not classic in the sense of George Strait or Randy Travis. You have to go back to Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash with some notes of Bob Dylan in there as well. An album I'd absolutely recommend for a more folk-flavored country fan. After listening to it, I was glad it was already being processed by the fine people at Amazon to arrive at my doorstep in 3-5 business days.

My 3 Stars of the Album

1. Prairie Evening/Sagebrush Waltz

2. Eveangelina

3. Corralling The Blues

Album Review: Whitsitt Chapel - Jelly Roll (2023)

 

Album: Whitsitt Chapel

Artist: Jelly Roll

Year: 2023

Hello, and thanks for reading the Coffee Stain Music blog.  Today's album I'm reviewing is "Whitsitt Chapel" by Jelly Roll.  Jelly Roll is a 38 year old singer/songwriter that I never heard of until this past year. I know it is uncool to admit you didn't hear of someone who has been a charting artist for a decade now, but its true. Mostly because Jelly Roll was and is primarily a rapper and my rap/hip-hop collection is a short stack of old CD's and I don't follow modern rap at all or check out how the hot new rappers are. I have not checked out his previous albums and from what I understand he mixed in some rock elements and either way I know its very different than the album I'm reviewing today.

Whitsitt Chapel is Jelly Roll's country debut. It's very much a modern country album with enough beats and bars to remind (or inform to new fans) the listener that he is a hip hop artist as well and not abandoning those roots.  The intro song "Halfway To Hell" kicks off with a hard rocking country tune that teeters on southern rock. It sets the tone for this album very well and has a catchy chorus that is easy to sing along to in the car... Something you'll find will apply to almost every song on this record. Halfway... is probably the hardest rocking track on the album. One of my favorites, "The Lost" comes close as a straight-up rocker as well.  Regardless, expect a good diverse mix on this album.  There is one theme that carries throughout the entire record and that's raw honesty.

While listening on repeat the past couple of weeks the word that I thought best described these songs is "honest".  It hit me at just the right time.  I'm a classic rock guy first who loved checking out new rock and metal bands but it seems so many of them are playing rockstar. Trying too hard to be what the template was in the 80s. Singing about Dungeons and Dragons fantasy bullshit and doing the same old tired phony Satanic crap that 98% of metal bands have been doing for DECADES now.  When I popped in Whittsitt Chapel it was like a breath of fresh air. Every song sounded real. Every song was relatable to a degree and every verse felt like it really meant something.  I wasn't just listening to saying singing about what they felt they had to sing about in order to get air play or fit in with some scene. I felt like I was hearing real stories about topics that really matter to people and the artist himself.

It was back in April that I was listening to my local country station. The DJ said something about playing this new song that was going to blow up. That song would be "Need A Favor". I heard it and loved it and thought "I'm going to have to look this artist up" and I never did. I was busy that day. It was my daughter's baptism and as the story goes you lose track of things you meant to do. Then I started seeing Jelly Roll pop up everywhere since this album dropped and I was reminded to check out that song and I still loved it.  Later that week I went to the mall and bought the CD (really the best way to support the artist short of seeing a live show, by the way) and popped it in the car and I thought every song was great. I really felt like I was listening to one of those albums that will truly be associated with its time and it's great to see the success Jelly Roll has earned from this incredible release.

"Need A Favor" has been a breakout crossover hit. It reached #1 on the rock charts and when I got the CD it was #4 on the country charts in the US. As of this writing, it has climbed up to #3.  Rarely when speaking of one's own faith do you hear someone point out their own hypocrisy. "I only talk to God when I need a favor... So who the hell am I to expect a savior if I only talk to God when I need a favor, but God I need a favor."  The line itself is so real and impactful and an honest admission that many of faith experience when they only turn to God when things are bad or out of their control, but we don't look around and appreciate the good He has done. We go to church around Christmas and Easter but are sleeping in in the middle of July and watching NFL pregames in September, but when shit hits the fan who do you turn to first?  The song has many layers to it that can speak to so many people, even if, or perhaps especially if, you aren't much of a church-goer and religion isn't a major part of your daily life.

Whittsitt Chapel closes with the aptly titled "Hungover in a Church Pew" thus putting a fitting end to the concept that runs throughout this album from start to finish. The album has a good mix of everything. Every song has a southern flare over a miss of rock, hip-hop, and some nice ballads as well.  The album, though tackles some heavy personal issues and isn't shy about talking about the dark side of life is also very Christian as well.  It's the type of Christian music that really clicks with me.  I like hearing a flawed human being talking about their problems and how they remain faithful through it all instead of it always being bright, happy and singing praise. Listen to Jelly Roll on Joe Rogan's podcast. He gets into a lot of that rough side of his early life. He has a lot of darkness to shine some light on through his music.

I'll wrap this up with my 3 stars of the album:

1. Need A Favor

2. The Lost

3. Hungover in a Church Pew


My final rating for this album is 10/10  While I don't believe any work of art can truly be perfect, a 10/10 rating doesn't mean it is a flawless record that I'm positive everyone will love.  It is however perfect for what it is and the album never loses the plot. Every song is good. It doesn't stick around too long with mindless filler.  It starts and finishes strong and it's an honest effort. I can't ask for much more.  Giving it something like a 9.5 would feel like I'm nitpicking. If I don't have any obvious issues with a great record, its a 10. Keep it simple. No need to overthink a great release when it is starring right at you.