Tag: Songwriter

With Heaven on Top — first-listen thoughts before the shine dulls

Zach Bryan is flat-out on fire with this new record.

Yeah, I’ll lump him in with some of that other Nashville trash from time to time — guilty — but that’s lazy on my part and unfair to what the man actually does.

Because here’s the truth:

Zach writes like somebody who’s lived it. No rhinestone filter, no committee-approved chorus, no fake drawl for radio. Just busted knuckles, bad decisions, good intentions, and melodies that feel like they were scribbled on a bar napkin at 1:47 a.m. because they had to come out.

You don’t accidentally write songs like that.

That’s instinct. That’s honesty. That’s a songwriter doing damage in the atmosphere.

With Heaven on Top doesn’t feel like a “release.”It feels like a dump truck backed up to the heart and somebody yanked the gate. This album is long, it’s heavy, it’s messy in spots — and that’s exactly why it works.

Zach’s not chasing singles here. He’s documenting a season. You can hear the wear in it — fame sitting awkward on his shoulders, relationships cracking, new love trying to grow in rocky soil, old ghosts still coughing in the corner of the room. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the whole damn tape.

Musically, he stretches out more than folks give him credit for. Yeah, the acoustic bones are still there — they always will be — but there’s grit, muscle, and movement all over this thing. Some tracks swagger. Some stumble. Some sit quietly and stare at the floor like they’re waiting on a verdict.

And that’s the point.

Lyrically, he’s still writing like a man who doesn’t know how not to tell the truth — even when it makes him look small, bitter, hopeful, or confused. Especially then. There are moments that feel aimed straight at old wounds, and others that sound like someone cautiously learning how to trust daylight again.

Is it bloated? Maybe. Twenty-five songs is a long walk with no shortcuts. But this record isn’t meant to be skimmed. It’s meant to be lived with. Some songs will hit you now. Others won’t show up until six months from now when something goes sideways in your own life and suddenly that line makes sense.

That’s the difference between a Nashville product and a songwriter. Products age out. Songs like these age with you.

With Heaven on Top isn’t perfect — but it’s honest, and honest albums last longer than perfect ones. Zach Bryan isn’t trying to clean up country music. He’s just telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. And right now, those chips are stacked pretty damn high.

That Lonesome Song

A couple of Sundays back I attended a show out at the Wagnernoel in Midland. I have been listening to the music of Jamey Johnson since he released his second studio album back in 08, but until then, I had never seen him play live.

Jamey is a hell of a song writer. You might know that one song he does, ‘In color,’ I mean the song does have some great things going for it, but Johnson has a whole catalog of lyrics that match or trump that songs greatness.

Jamey Johnson has also written some great songs that were recorded by other artists. I think that’s the ceiling for a song writer. When you hear the words that you wrote down on paper and they are coming from the mouth of George Strait blasting through the speakers of your cars radio, you know you have made it.

‘Give it Away’ is one of those songs. I wouldn’t say Jamey Johnson gave it to anyone. King George recorded the song when no one else gave a damn who Jamey Johnson was. He’d just lost his record label and wasn’t sure what direction his life would turn, and outta no where- Enter King George.

Jamey Johnson is great entertainment. He is a showman. At the concert hall that night he played several songs by another George. The one whose last name is Jones. He played them at the request of his good buddy Rooster. Some of you might remember Rooster from the short lived reality series, West Texas Investors Club. Some of you remember Rooster because of his brother Matthew McConaughey, that movie star guy. I remember Rooster just being Rooster. I grew up with his son, and also happened to graduate high school with his current wife Erica.

At the show Rooster reminded us all to listen and appreciate the lyrics. The songwriter makes the song. No matter who is playing it. That Lonesome Song tells us a story, from the heart.

Jamey Johnson also did some brilliant covers from one of the best ever, Billy Joe Shaver. In fact he did more covers that night then I was ever expecting, but he did them better than I ever expected so it was all perfectly okay by me.

That Lonesome song is one of my personal favorites of all time. It tells a story that I can personally relate to. I think many of my friends can too. Couple that with Johnson’s ‘High Cost of Living’ (which was a disappointment that he didn’t even have it on the set list that night) and you’ve got a pretty accurate picture of my life.

You should have seen it in Color.

Pancho.