There Ain't Nothing Montgomery Gentry Doesn't Like About Brooks & Dunn

You Can Never Go Home Again. Oh Wait; Yes You Can

I know we are all saddened by the void left by the retirement of Brooks and Dunn, but that’s no excuse to try to resurrect them by recycling their songs in the guise of your own.

I’m talking to you, Montgomery Gentry.

  

A preview of their new single “Where I Come From” was released today, and if you’re anything like The Inky Jukebox, you will immediately recognize it. It’s Brooks and Dunn’s “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” but with different lyrics.

Listen to "Where I Come From" here.

Much as we love Montgomery Gentry, The Inky Jukebox agrees with the Taste of Country reviewer: they’ve already said and done this. Writing homage’s to one’s hometown, or small town life in general has always been a thematic staple in country music, but surely there must be a new way to do it?

Here’s why you love your hometown, a country song primer:

• It’s off the beaten path
• The churches are full
• Everybody knows your name
• Folks are polite and have traditional values
• Friends are old and true
• The coffeeshop / barbershop / diner is the social hub
• They take their football / fishing / truck driving seriously
• Your ma and pa live there still
• There’s a Tastee Freeze
• It’s where you had your first kiss / crash / fight
• There is mud

Here are some hometown songs you might know. They are all excellent in their own right and don’t need to be imitated.

Montgomery Gentry “My Town”

Kenny Chesney “That’s Where I Grew Up”

Justin Moore “Small Town USA”

Brooks and Dunn “Red Dirt Road”

Josh Thompson “Way Out Here”

Little Big Town “Boondocks”

Miranda Lambert “Famous in a Small Town”

Rascal Flatts “Mayberry”

Sugarland “Everyday America”

Tim McGraw “Where The Green Grass Grows”

Zac Brown Band “Chicken Fried”

Mix Me A New One, Bartender: Country Rap

Q: What do you get when you cross over? 

A: A Cowboy with a Devil's Haircut Sittin' at a Bar 

singing a Dirt Road Anthem.

When it comes to the mixing of musical genres, The Inky Jukebox is often a bit skeptical of the results. In recent years there have been some well-known attempts to blend country music with rap.

Kid Rock, for instance, is the embodiment of such an unlikely marriage, a creature embraced by both worlds with the personality and cajones to pull it off. “Cowboy” is clearly the most successful example of a seamless blending of these two genres because like a good mixologist, he pours the fundamentals of both to form a whole new drink. He brings the pace and delivery of rap with the melodic rhythms of a good Southern Rock together, and neither bows to the other.

But there was a much earlier Kid Rock, by the name of Beck. Bear in mind this was 1996, and give “Devil’s Haircut” a new listen to hear how laid back and country his underlying melody is. He’s kitted-out in western-wear, which mollifies the hipster-douchebag vibe somewhat. (Compare it to Billy Currington’s video for “Don’t” – seriously.)

Tim McGraw and Nelly collaborated on “Over and Over” in 2004 with less convincing results. It appears as though McGraw is merely providing backing vocals for a soft R & B song, which misses the point for both artists. It also provides a dilemma for marketing: which pigeonhole can you slot this into? It’s not a bad song — it is pleasant to hear, but it’s sleepy and forgettable.

The convoluted history of Rehab’s “Bartender Song” makes for a nice Nashville ending, and shows how hip-hop and country can drink together in harmony. Originally called “Sittin’ At A Bar,” the title was changed to circumvent an unauthorized reissue by their former label once it became popular. Bringing Hank Williams Jr. in for a duet really upped the ante and gave it a whole new audience. You know things are going to go well when Bocephus walks in the door. Again, this works because the music is consistent and melodic throughout. It helps that Danny Alexander’s voice matches Hank Jr’s so well. (The Inky Jukebox LOVES this song.)

The latest rap / country performance does something different again: it takes a country singer who raps out verses for a hard-core edge. But if you ever wondered how on earth Jason Aldean ended up rapping his “Dirt Road Anthem” of all things, it’s because of the song’s interesting genesis. Originally written by “Country Rapper” Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert, and recorded separately by both. Colt Ford’s version has Gilbert’s vocal on the chorus.

It’s a more laid-back version than Aldean’s, and if you’re used to that one it will be a revelation to hear how the floating vocal overlay enhances this duet. It reminds The Inky Jukebox of rapper-turned-country-boy Uncle Kracker, cruising along in a convertible. Compare it to Aldean’s angrier, bitier, higher-wattage version.

Evidently, Aldean’s cover of this song has ruffled a lot of feathers, especially among those who think that either he shouldn’t be rapping, or that he’s not giving credit to the song’s originators. To quiet them down, Brantley Gilbert offers this reassurance to his fans. It’s not the first time Gilbert and Aldean have come together for a hit: the title track off Aldean’s album “My Kinda Party” was written and recorded by Gilbert first.

Check it out —The Inky Jukebox likes it a lot (especially the guitar licks) and it bodes very well for Gilbert’s burgeoning career now that he’s signed to The Valory Music Co.

Colt Ford’s rap remix of Montgomery Gentry’s “Roll With Me” is one example of where trying to squeeze two genres together doesn’t work. Essentially, all he’s done is added rap and speeded things up, and for anyone who knows the original, it can’t be a satisfying outcome given that it was sublime to begin with.

Speaking of strange mash-ups, we’ll end by asking you to try this other iconic 80's hit on for size: shockingly, it ain’t as bad as you think it will be. Enjoy, y'all.

Roll With Me

Montgomery Gentry

It was with sadness that we learned this week that Eddie Montgomery has prostate cancer. The Inky Jukebox likes Mr. Montgomery because he manages, like a good rodeo clown, to excel at what he does by being who he is. Example: he reinforces everything you suspect about celebrity twittering: Dude tweets from the tour bus or plane late at night when he can’t sleep and uses a lot of exclamation points. 

This unhappy news reminded me that high on the list of shows I saw this year were Montgomery Gentry (named after Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry); they headlined the Country Throwdown tour and let me tell you something: it was a long hot day full of one stellar act after another; by the time these guys took the stage most folks were sporting severe sunburns and were on their seventh or eleventh beer. It was a rowdy crowd who voiced their wholehearted dedication to the band by singing along so loud at times they rivaled the PA system (no mean feat).

Troy and Eddie put on a hell of a show, though: a couple of hours that consisted of one hit after another, Eddie in his trademark long black duster and flat hat, Troy in sparkles playing flashy guitars. Eddie wields his mic stand as if it’s a cross between a cheerleader’s baton and a lion tamer’s whip. Here’s how they operate as a duo: Eddie sings the verses and Troy steps in to ramp up the vocal for the choruses. (Some People Change) They deliver songs about being rednecks, mostly, and being good Southern boys with old fashioned traditions and beliefs (My Town). These include getting drunk; wrecking cars; not giving a shit what anyone thinks of you; being surprised to have grown up; giving props to the military; and being down with Jesus. Typical stuff. (There’s One in Every Crowd) As such, they are the kind of band your Democrat friends wince at if they hear it blaring out of your car window as you sing along to “Long Line of Losers.”

This was the song I think the crowd sang loudest to, come to think of it. Perhaps it was the alcohol.

When you see Montgomery Gentry being interviewed, you notice a couple of things right off the bat. One, that they both have preternaturally white teeth. Their teeth are so damn dazzling they could misdirect incoming aircraft. Eddie was raised in a church where they handled snakes; no way are his real teeth that color. Two: Troy comes across as dumb as shit. Clearly he is not. Together they sound like what they actually are: childhood buddies having a lark. ("Hell Yeah")

I’ll say it: I love this band. I don’t care how cheesy or clichéd their songs are, or that they are beloved by folks with very different political beliefs than me. Every song on all of their records is great. The Inky Jukebox hopes Eddie makes a full recovery because I want to see them in concert again. ASAP. (How self-serving is that!) Why is there not a concert DVD, guys? Huh? 

If you are going to only listen to one of their songs, check out this little gem: Roll With Me. (Eddie: “He sang the crap out of it.”)

This is pretty funny: Speed.

Hear the boys speak about their songs at Montgomery Gentry's You Tube Channel