Lord Love a Truck

Hey, look. More truckin' music at the Mountain. For your weekend enjoyment.

This is actually supposed to be a post about Junior Brown, as I've covered Red Simpson already. At some point. I think. It's been one of those days.

So Junior Brown, then.

Brown comes pretty damn close to being a novelty item in most folks' record collections. He notes in his website that people who don't like country (and western) tell him they like his stuff. Not sure why. He's pretty damn country. Maybe they're still stuck on the idea that Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt or similar hat singers are actually country (and maybe they are. Why not, I guess.). Junior's pretty quirky, and some purists have decried him for a lack of authenticity. If you've read here for awhile, y'all know I get a little tetchy about throwing the "authenticity" tag around. It's a stupid label.

What we do know about Brown is that he's a fuckfantastic guitar player, particularly his steel work. I believe he refers to his instrument (which he designed himself) as a "guit-steel". Pretty self-explanatory, that.

We also know that his voice is deeper than Death Valley, all Texas twang and bottomed out rye whiskey, but always, always tuneful and in tune. He's got Roger Miller's style and Hank Snow's groove. And Hank Thompson's way with words. But really, the artist closest to Junior Brown is Junior Brown. In a ten gallon hat.

Brown's vocal and guitar style lend themselves most perfectly to Texas hot rods and long journeys in a big ole truck. It's music that moves. Man.

Both of these songs are duets with the legendary Red Simpson. In the way the two songs on the last post started the same, these two end the same, with Red and Junior jawing with each other, taking off from the classic "Where's the Truck".

Lord love a truck.

Junior Brown and Red Simpson: Semi-Crazy (mp3)

Junior Brown and Red Simpson: Nitro Express (mp3)

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