BR549 – Dog Days

BR549
Dog Days
Dualtone

In a way, it's a shame that BR549 gets lumped into the "alternative country" category we at HickoryWind hold near and dear. It's also a bit of an injustice, because few groups exemplify what country music is about better than the boys from Nashville's Lower Broadway. You can slap a Stetson on any clown, but you can't teach him how to honor the tradition.

Sure, BR549 likes to color a little outside the lines. I don't think Webb Pierce would have done a song titled "Let Jesus Make You Breakfast." Maybe they're not strictly "traditional," but they're no hat act, either. They know the odds of surpassing Pierce, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Carl Perkins and Johnny Horton are slim, so with their originals and covers BR549 instead keeps the spirit of those artists alive and well.

For the past decade, BR549 has survived lineup changes, the indifference of country radio and (for the most part) the temptation to seek a more commercial sound. It's why their fans stuff the tip jar, and it's why they turn out mostly entertaining albums. Their latest, "Dog Days," is no exception, a mature work that stays true to tradition but does so with a wink and a nod.

The band's last effort, 2004's "Tangled in the Pines," was largely driven by Chris Scruggs' hot-rodded electric guitar, but Scruggs left to pursue a solo career. The defection cut the band down to a four piece, but vocalist/guitarist Chuck Mead, multi-instrumentalist Don Herron, drummer "Hawk" Shaw Wilson and new bassist/vocalist Mark Miller are none the worse for the wear.

"Dog Days," produced by John Keane (R.E.M., Uncle Tupelo, Bottle Rockets) and the band, is more low-key than "Tangled in the Pines," but still thoroughly enjoyable. It gets off to a great start with Herron's banjo on the bluegrassy lament "Poison," which recounts a night of drunken revelry (and the price that must be paid for said imbibing). And there's still plenty of the up-tempo, twangy stuff, including "Leave it Alone," "Bottom of Priority," and a cover of Dave Edmunds' "A-1 on the Jukebox."

This is a band that knows how to have fun, often by playing somewhere in left field. A good example is on the aforementioned "Let Jesus Make You Breakfast," which asks the listener to "Let Jesus make you breakfast with his fresh white shell toes on." I always pictured Jesus in Birkenstocks myself, but it's completely reasonable to believe that the Prince of Peace would have the fashion sense to wear Adidas Superstars.

The gospel-inflected "The Devil & Me" straddles the line between bar-band fun and traditionalism. The link to the past in this case comes via guest backing vocals from The Jordanaires, who provide a pleasing juxtaposition to the lyrics ("Oh the devil and me, don't have no secrets/Oh the devil and me, yeah we're best friends/Oh the devil and me don't need no reason/But I know the devil in me gonna do me in") with their heavenly harmonies.

Still, the more serious songs are some of the best on "Dog Days." "After the Hurricane" is sure to strike a bittersweet chord with listeners post Katrina, but it actually was written by Tim Carroll long before the recent devastation in New Orleans. The ballad, which recalls Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers (with a touch of fiddle added), might well be the strongest track on the disc.

Also strong is the loose, shuffling "Lower Broad St. Blues," which was written by Mead and Guy Clark. Both men know the neighborhood well, and are equally comfortable on both sides of the alley that separates the mother church of country music – the Ryman Auditorium – and Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

That alley symbolizes the appeal of BR549: Reverential one minute, ripping it up the next. Thankfully, we have a choice in country music, and "Dog Days" makes the choice clear.