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My Honky Tonk History

Travis Tritt - My Honky Tonk History Audio CD

A fair review of the Travis Tritt "My Honky Tonk History" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Travis Tritt reviews here, or go back to the Travis Tritt tabs.

Band: Travis Tritt
Title: My Honky Tonk History
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-08-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Honky-Tonk History 2: Too Far to Turn Around 3: Girl's Gone Wild 4: What Say You - John Mellencamp, Travis Tritt 5: Circus Leaving Town 6: Monkey Around 7: I See Me 8: When Good Ol' Boys Go Bad 9: We've Had It All 10: It's All About the Money 11: Small Doses 12: When in Rome

OLD SCHOOL - PERFECT
Travis Tritt since his breakout in 1990 was then and is now- Pure Country. Todays Country Music can be divided into two groups; Marketing Made or Pure Country. This album received little airplay and that is due to the "POP" side of Country Music and current marketing to mainstream America. Too bad for America, here is a performer that will knock you out with his soulful voice and pure raw emotion in every song. "Too Far to Turn Around" is Travis Tritt saying that he wants to stop drinking, he wants to do right, just can't. Isn't that what we want to hear? "Honky Tonk History" starts the album with just that; a history of clawing to make it in the music industry and understanding the behavior involved matches the life style and music, but defeats the objective and not caring. "What Say You" a duet with John Mellencamp tells the listener that even though people have core beliefs, Democrat or Republican, deep down their values are the same. "Girls Gone Wild" is solid, but a little too commericalized for my taste. In "I See Me" Travis reflects on past mistakes and reconizes that as his parents were there for his problems, he will be there for his son's as well hoping the bad news will never come. Let me add one last item, Travis Tritt is one of the last big time performers that plays the small venue and for the public lucky enough to be in a 1,000 seat theatre, you will get more then your money's worth. This guy is underrated as a performer and his true musicianship guarentees the best is yet to be heard.

HONKY TONKY TRITTY!
Can't you just hear that talent and drive as you place the disc on the tray. What can I say? I love the guy! You know it's Travis from the first note, Waylon re-incarnated but with his own way of doing things. Sit back, close your eyes and let it all flow over you. Magic!.

Going downhill?
That album provided the hit singles "Best of Intentions," "It's a Great Day to Be Alive," "Love of a Woman," and "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde. When Travis Tritt released "Down the Road I Go" in 2000, it was clearly a return to form for him and, incidentally, also one of the best records of his career. " And, what's more remarkable, the album held together well as a whole. There wasn't a bad cut on the disc.

2002's "Strong Enough" was a slight step backward. The album featured some great songs -- "Strong Enough to Be Your Man," "Country Ain't Country," "Doesn't Anyone Hurt Anymore," "I Don't Ever Want Her to Feel That Way Again" -- but did not quite live up to its hype as an album. There were a number of weak tracks.

Now, to "My Honky Tony History. " The album, as an album, is the worst of the three. It is plagued by far too many "I'm a country badass" songs -- "Girl's Gone Wild," "Monkey Around," "When Good Ol' Boys Go Bad," "When in Rome. " One or two of these songs is more than enough. There are a couple good rocking numbers, particularly the album opener "Honky Tonk History" and the fun "It's All About the Money," but for the most part the album redeems itself in the slower numbers. "Circus Leaving Town" is one of Tritt's best performances ever, "I See Me" will probably do well at radio, "Small Doses" is fine. "We've Had It All," written by Tritt and Marty Stuart, bears a more-than-passing resemblance to a song cut by Waylon in the 70's, titled "We Had It All. "

There are some very good tracks here, and most of them are slow. Tritt seems so used to rocking out that it's no longer interesting to him -- even his spontaniety now seems calculated, and the performances lack the conviction that could pull the sub-par lyrical content out of the gutter.

I'll buy Tritt's next album, but I'm not expecting much from it.

Honky tonk through and through!
The album opens with a light, popish piano riff. . and then a shotgun blast and screaming electric guitars, and the unforgettable line: "Played a Telecaster/Til my fingers bled Bud Lite". If that ain't honky tonk, I don't know what is.

Travis Tritt is a modern-day outlaw. Though this album doesn't at all showcase his superb songwriting skills, it does highlight is voice and rebellious attitude. The rhythms, the lyrics, the style--it's all here, for your listening pleasure.

While there's a lot of fun and games on this album, it does get serious in spots. The song "We've Had It All" (written by Tritt and friend and frequent collaborator Marty Stuart) is genuinely romantic, while the powerful "Circus Leaving Town" harks back to the days of George Jones and Conway Twitty. "I See Me" is a tender, surprisingly un-cliched look at fatherhood, and "What Say You," the hit duet with John Mellencamp, not only preaches political noncomfority and acceptance, but puts a staunch Democrat and a staunch Republican in the same recording booth. I see a message there, somewhere.

MY HONKY TONK HISTORY is a stellar effort from Travis Tritt. Always an over-the-top performer, with a combination of rebellious attitude and genuine sensitivity, Tritt has managed to make yet another memorable album. Hopefully, this one will reinvigorate his career, and keep him going for many more years. Lord knows, he has the talent.

Just Another Honky Tonk
The title track is an infectious, rousing power song with pounding drums that invites to rebel dance - but carries way to little in terms of lyrical content. Finally a new album by Travis and he returns to some of the southern rock elements, mixed up with honky tonk, which made him big. Can you really like ". . . whiskey on a woman's breath . . . "!!?? Similar bad right-winged, redneck-clichees can be found on other tracks ("there's hell to pay when a good ol' boy goes bad", "when you're down home you better do like us"). Fortunately there are a few deeper songs on here as well, such as the "What Say You", which does almost not fit on the album with its theme, and "Circus Leaving Town". I hope it's not all about the money, but I was expecting a little more substance from "Mac Singleton".

You can see a complete list of all Travis Tritt discography, or go back to the Travis Tritt tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.