Album review: Small Town Family Dream by Josh Abbott Band

I'll be getting to the review in a moment, but seeing as I'm posting this on Memorial Day here in the United States I'd like to talk about that for a minute. I'm a very big support of our military; there's a quote I've seen floating around the Internet that  says " if you can't get behind our military, get in front of them". That's pretty much exactly how I feel about it. We owe so much to our military, they are the reason why we get to live the lives we do. They are the reason we're free and they deserve our utmost respect and appreciation. Their sacrifices are many and today we remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and honor those who have died. Hopefully at some point today, you'll take a moment or more to think of all the brave men and women in uniform and be grateful. For all of the fallen, for all of the veterans and for all who are actively serving their country as we speak.

And may we also take a moment or more to think of all of the military families out there as well. Many of whom will be no doubt thinking of their own fallen; for them, I hope that they can take some comfort in knowing that their loved one(s) may be gone but never forgotten. Not just by them, but by the rest of the country as well. For those out there who have a loved one or more currently serving in the military, I hope they feel the same. May we never forget about all the military families out there and may God bless them and, of course, their soldiers. And if any of out military, past or present happen to make their way here, I'd like to thank you for your service and sacrifice. You and your loved ones are in my thoughts and prayers, along who the thoughts and prayers of countless others. 

Now, I kept going back and forth on whether I wanted to review this CD or not. But as you can clearly see, I decided to. I'll be honest and admit that I have very mixed feelings about Small Town Family Dream. I'll start with the good and there are quite a few good things about this. The production is very nice on this, save for some minor issues.This album has a great flow to it. Musically, I really like the music on this all the way throughout. There's some great fiddle and guitar playing to be found here. Vocally, Josh Abbott is very solid. He has a pretty nice delivery for each song which is always a good thing in my book. He sounds a lot like Garth Brooks at times and that's just an observation of mine; nothing wrong with that.

Josh Abbott band is full of potential, but overall I wasn't really feeling this album and a lot of that has to do with the lyrics. There's some great lyrics on this CD, I'm not saying there isn't. Here's the thing: this album is Texas country, which in some ways is kind of like a sub-genre of country. I'm not overly familiar with a lot of Texas country artists, but from what I've heard, they seem to lean more towards the traditional. I have no problems with the sound; I enjoy the sound quite a bit, I like it. This album is very much pro-Texas and that's fine - I have no problems with Texas and would love to go there some day. The issue I have is that it's not only pro-Texas, but anti-Nashville and as a person who loves Nashville and a lot of the music coming out of Nashville, it began to get a little tiresome for me. This album would've benefited from backing away from all that. Though if you don't care for Nashville either, you'll more than likely really like this.

Would I recommend this album? I don't know. It's not a bad album by any means and I really like parts of it, but I don't see myself wearing it out either. Like I said, I have mixed feelings about this one. I believe that it's definitely worth checking out and seeing what you think of it. Everyone deserves a shot, after all.

Let's go song by song.

"Idalou" This is one of my favorite songs on this album; I like this one a lot. There's a wonderful energy to it and I love the playing. Good vocal as well. This song is about how wonderful the city of Idalou, Texas is. I really like all the details in here. And it features a very catchy chorus,"She'll pick you up and she'll pull you down/ Everyone waves when they're driving through town/ The faces may change, but the last names never do/ It's a beautiful way of life in Idalou". Again, I really like this one. 

"I'll Sing About Mine" Musically, I really like this one too - great playing and a nice melody. I wish I liked it more because the music is so good. But to be truthful, this one just kind of hit me wrong. This song was originally done by Brian Keane and takes a fair amount of shots at Nashville. The entire song is basically a shot at Nashville. Here's the chorus for you: "Because tractors ain't sexy/ And workin' is hard/ For small town people like me/ And the radio's full of rich folks singin'/ About places they've never seen/ And I ain't sayin' their life ain't hard/ I'd love to hear about it sometime/ Let 'em sing about their own life/ And I'll sing about mine". There's also a line about how they make the place is loves "sound like a bad cartoon", but it makes a point of saying he's not complaining. Yeah. So many things I could comment on here, one of them being that you don't know what other people have seen or experienced. It's catchy, I'll give it that. But I just don't care for this one too much. 

"Touch" This song comes with the bonus of a wonderful video. I love the video for this and strongly urge you to check it out on youtube or CMT or somewhere if you've never seen it. It packs such an emotional punch and I can't say enough good things about it. A great example of a video enhancing the meaning of the song; this one being about how much he wants to feel his woman's touch again and that he can't get enough of it. Pretty interesting song musically and lyrically speaking and off the top of my head. I like this one.

"She Will Be Free" Another of my favorites from this album, about a girl who will not be tied down by anything. I like the sentiment and how stripped down it feels. There's also some great lyrics in here. Very nicely crafted song. 

"Hotty Toddy" This is another one where I like the music and where I'm not really feeling the lyrics. This might have more with me not really caring for songs like this to begin with though there are some great ones. I just wasn't feeling this one, personally. But I do love the playing and the vocal.

"FFA" This one is just over a minute long and I'm not entirely sure what they were trying to say here. I just don't get it and honestly, I don't know what else to say about it. I don't get what the goal was with this. 

"Flatland Farmer" Honestly, this album is worth checking out for the music alone; I know I keep bringing it up, but the playing is so solid all the way throughout. This songs is another one that takes a shot at Nashville, about a farmer who can "out sing, out pick, out play/ Out drink, out play and out lay/ Any of them Nashville stars". I find this song very tiresome. Some other lyrics, "They call God all-mighty Nashville City USA/ They call God all-mighty Nashville/ Music City USA/ Ah, but get out of the city to where the farmers play/ You're in the real music country without them city ways". This song also features the following lyrics, "He's a flatland farmer/ Who flat picks an old guitar" a total of six times. I This one just comes across as them taking a shot at Nashville for no other reason than to take a shot at Nashville. Moving on. 

"My Texas (featuring Pat Green)" Just in case we forgot somewhere along the way, Texas is awesome. That's definitely the big theme of this album. This one talks about all sorts of things worth seeing and experiencing in Texas and I really like all the details in this one. 

"Dallas Love" A song about his love who he is trying to get to, his Dallas love. This one features some beautiful fiddle playing and some good lyrics."Oh, I can see the light/ Of your smile glowin' through the night/ Such a beautiful sight/ And your hair fallin' down/ And the tender sound of Dallas love". 

"Hell's Gates on Fire" This is one of my favorites and one of the standout tracks on this album. I find it to be a very interesting idea and I really like the overall feel of it. Some nice lyrics here, "Keep your spirits up/ Don't let your heads down/ Unless you're prayin' for the flames to drown/ The wind's not letting up/ And the situation is dire/ We need more angels/ Hell's gates fire". This is one I'd definitely recommend checking out, for the lyrics especially.

"Rain Finally Coming Down" About a woman who feels neglected by her farmer man and is described as already being half way out of there. Something about the mix of this one feels off to me somehow and I have no idea why. But I do like it and I really like the lyrics. One of the better songs on here for sure.

"Small Town Family Dream" I like this one a lot, maybe my favorite overall lyric of the album. "I thank the Lord everyday, if I get the chance to pray/ For all the blessings He's given me/ Like living with you in our small town family dream". Good song.

"Matagorda Bay" This one has a different feel to it than any other song on this CD and I'm not sure how to describe it. A little more breezy, perhaps? Some nice Dobro playing on this song; at least I'm 85% that it's a Dobro. Some beautiful fiddle playing, once again. This is about a bay in, wait for it, Texas. Where else? I like the melody of this, there's some very pleasing about it to me. Among my favorites.

Well, in doing this review I realize that I like more songs than I thought I did after I listened to it the first time. I said it earlier, Josh Abbott band is full of promise and they have a lot going for them. I'd love to see them branch out lyrically, get out of Texas some more and get away from the songs slamming Nashville all together. I also realize in re-listening that it was really only the two songs taking shots against Nashville, but I think it would've been better to include songs about other things. They just weren't needed and neither one of them set right with me at all. But that is, of course, just my opinion and should be taken as such with a grain of salt. I'll say one thing: the songs did make me feel something which should be a big goal when it comes to music. Better to make people feel something strongly than have a song that doesn't impact the listener at all. So I'll give them credit there. 

Thanks for reading!