Escape From The Chicken Coop
Written by Greg Johnson Thursday, 20 August 2009 21:05
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Watermelon Slim
NorthernBlues
By Greg Johnson
Watermelon Slim’s latest CD Escape From The Chicken Coop may be considered a country album, but make no mistake, this is classic Slim through and through. Nobody has those vocals, so unmistakenable and filled with the weariness of the road he traveled so often, first as a truck driver and more recently as a successful musician. It may be called country, but it bleeds every bit as blues as any of his prior releases.
It’s all here. That raspy, unique voice alongside his burning slide guitar playing. Those songs of hauling freight and the friends he has made. It’s not hard to imagine a good many of these same selections as possibly being on any of his previous recordings. The only difference here, The Workers, his regular band, have been replaced with some of the finest musicians Nashville has to offer. Produced by Miles Wilkinson, who has worked with artists like Willie Nelson and Marcia Ball, Slim also wrote a handful of songs with Gary Nicholson who often teams up with Delbert McClinton.
How do you select a highlight from a Watermelon Slim CD? The more you listen to him the more you like everything about his music. Personally I found songs like the Roy Acuff classic “Wreck On The Highway,” “300 Miles,” “You See Me Like I See You” and “Hank Williams You Wrote My Life” all classic examples of what I truly enjoy in Slim’s music upon first listen. “Skinny Women And Fat Cigars” just gives me the visualization of that one of a kind person I know, and it makes me smile every time I hear it played as I can picture him in my mind.
In the long run, or should I say long haul, this is every bit your typical Watermelon Slim recording as any other you’ve listened to before. It’s all about his personal journey as a truck driver, written and sung for his fellow truckers. Whatever style or genre you want to call it, it is without doubt Watermelon Slim. And that means it’s honest and from the heart.
Total Time: 46:39
Tracks: Caterpillar Whine / Skinny Women And Fat Cigars / You See Me Like I See You / Wreck On The Highway / Friends On The Porch / Should Have Done More / Hank Williams You Wrote My Life / America’s Wives / The Way I Am / It’s Never Too Hard To Be Humble / 300 Miles / Truck Drivin’ Songs / 18, 18 Wheeler