Country music swashbucklers JASON BOLAND AND THE STRAGGLERS'
hard-hitting new live set HIGH IN THE ROCKIES: A LIVE
ALBUM is an unconstrained collection of appealingly inventive Red Dirt
country. Crackling with the raw outlaw voltage that has made them one of the
fastest-rising forces in contemporary country, the resolutely independent
Texas-based quintet's execution and delivery is uniformly impressive, and with
material divided between Stragglers standards and fan favorites, the album rises
to a profound new elevation that is reflected in a most fitting choice of title.
Whether reveling in the Okie kickback groove of "Tulsa Time" or re-defining the
epic despair of Boland's classic "Bottle By My Bed," their sound, characterized
by ebullient musicianship and passionate vocals, links country music's past to
its future with admirable expertise.
Constantly reaching out for fresh new sounds and attitudes, rippling with
traces of such forebears as Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard and illuminated by
luxurious employ of dobro, fiddle and mandolin, High In The
Rockies is a perfect mix of the progressive and the traditional.
Released via Boland's own label, Proud Souls Entertainment, in conjunction with
the Apex Nashville label and Thirty Tigers distribution, it was recorded on four
consecutive nights at January 2010 performances in Colorado and Wyoming, and the
band displays authenticity at its most ardent--stubborn, proud, completely
unfettered. Throughout, the freewheeling creative promise of the Red Dirt
movement never goes unheeded. It has been a hard-earned escalation, one that
comes after Boland was sidelined by surgery to remove a polyp from his throat, a
chilling incident which led not only Boland, but the entire band--Roger Ray on
steel, lead guitar and dobro; fiddler Noah Jeffries; bassist Grant Tracy; and
drummer Brad Rice--to confront a potentially devastating turn of events.
Typically, they flipped the experience from defeat to victory, instilling a
renewed energy and drive which resulted in this extraordinary recording.
"We've got totally a different perspective." Boland said. "That was heavy, a
paradigm shift, a sea change. It was the one thing that could park us all. But I
look back on it and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It made us all stop and
re-evaluate life, the band, touring, but we're back at it hard, with a new, very
achievable goal: that the most important thing is we now make music that we
truly feel, and I'm thankful for that." As a result, Boland's commanding vocals,
at once relaxed yet fraught with tension, pack the lyrics with a depth of
forthright veracity, a rich psychic quality that the band's full throttle jams
easily match, and the urgency of the Stragglers' innate, road-seasoned dynamism
and talent further heightens High In The Rockies' already
supercharged atmosphere.
Captured at the peak of the band's renewal, every song is put across with an
invigorated emphasis and titles like "Comal County Blue" and "Backslider Blues"
resonate with fresh new contours, while the case-hardened tenderness of "Jesus
And Ruger" again underscores Boland's mastery as lyricist and interpreter. That
skill has served him well for the better part of a decade, a steady ascension
that finds the band today averaging over 200 shows a year, and with album sales
exceeding 200,000, Jason Boland and the Stragglers represent a singular,
self-propelled country phenomenon. "It was time for a live album, and also to
get a photograph of the five of us now," Boland said. "I'm really happy with the
material we chose. It stems from The Bourbon Legend and
Comal County Blue and we went back and mined a couple of our
older songs, and songs like Merle Haggard's 'Rainbow Stew' and Tom Russell's
'Gallo Del Cielo,' that fans kept requesting and never let die."
Whether questioning life's ironies or examining his own restless discontent,
Boland's involvement and conviction gleams with the undeniable capability of a
natural born honky-tonk communicator. Loaded with banging drama, wry
observations and soul-deep expression, High In The Rockies
documents an extraordinary transformative period for the band and continues the
fulfillment of Jason Boland and the Stragglers' extraordinary promise. "We got
over being young and the entrapment of limitations on your instrument, vocals,
writing--and the entrapments of life, love, chemicals." Boland said. "I've
reached the point where I don't over-think it and simply do the music honestly.
I don't care about fame or the pop culture machine--you'll never see us on
'Nashville Star' or 'American Idol.' We look to the populist
grassroots, we're not in it for fame and cash. Seriously, it's all about living
free."
