A Pocketful of Soul

Lonesome Highway - Hardcore Country, Americana & Highway Travelers 
Issue 8 (Ireland)
Having listened to this album for sometime now as a pre-release it has easily become one of my favourites and a strong contender for album of the year. When someone asks me why I like what is country music today this is one of the albums that I would point to as an example of exactly what is good about the music today.  Jason Ringenberg has put his heart and soul into this record, it has passion and it has purpose and he has done it exactly as he wants to. Unlike the experience he had when recording his first solo album for Liberty in 1992. Then he had to work with the Music Row machine and its machinations.

Recorded by the trio of Jason. George Bradfute and Fats Kaplin, they deliver a mighty strong sound, where between them nothing has been left out. Produced by George and Jason it has the kind of dynamic that is laced with hardcore country and not a little punk attitude that Jason brought to his performances with The Scorchers. This however is a less frantic but still full-on work, but one that has lost none of that scorching edge. Neither has he produced a Scorchers sound-alike album, this is a separate thing as strong as their music was but in a different way. While his voice is never going to be Strait smooth he is utterly convincing and equally distinctive, which in these days of programmed baritones is worth a hell of a lot more to these ears.

The songs, mosty self written with one co-write with Kevin Welch and two covers, all come from the heart. The opening Oh Lonesome. Prairie is a song to the soil and for the heartland. The first of the covers is Whispering Pines, a tale of lost love. Under Your Command sings of faith and conviction. Trail of Tears, the second cover, deals with death and consequences and is one of the albums many highlight, with its chilling One Wore Black chorus. His daughter is the focus of the loving For Addie Rose, it has strong sentiment with being overly sentimental. The title track is about hope and determination. Hay Bailing Time, is a fun, old timey instrumental with fiddle and acoustic and electric guitars. The Last of The Neon Cowboys opens with banjo motif, the opening lines set the tone ."He's been singing in these bars since he came back from the war, and found a Dear John letter from ex-wife number four". Now that's country' a point further emphasized by Fats Kaplins fine pedal steel solo.

Another highlight returns to the theme of the plight of the farmer being forced from his land, The Price Of Progress is simple yet full of empathy and depth. Merry Christmas My Darling is a song written home from a undisclosed but somehow eternal war situation that rings as true for any such situation. I Never Knew You is a love song without an ending. The closing song is the second instrumental, The Last Ride closes the album in fine Duane Eddy twang style, a happy trails to you.

As the title says so succinctly a pocketful of soul in an ocean of mediocrity. The scope of this album is as wide as the land it talks about and as warm as the heart that made it. Jason Ringenberg has made an album that will not breakdown the doors of the established rock or country mainstream. It won't get airplay out-side of Americana but I don't think that that is the point. It will still not get the acclaim that it deserves. Many will miss the point but those who know and care will delight in its integrity and quiet strengths. Long may he continue on his path to enlightenment.