Kat's Korner: Chase Rice delivers and then some

Kat reviews Chase Rice's new album below.

 Kat's Korner: Chase Rice delivers and then some

Kat: Are we in WHEN THE PAWN HITS THE CONFLICTS HE THINKS LIKE A KING WHAT HE KNOWS THROWS THE BLOWS WHEN HE GOES TO THE FIGHT AND HE'LL WIN THE WHOLE THING 'FORE HE ENTERS THE RING THERE'S NO BODY TO BATTER WHEN YOUR MIND IS YOUR MIGHT SO WHEN YOU SO WHEN YOU GO SOLO, YOU HOLD YOUR OWN HAND AND REMEMBER THAT DEPTH IS THE GREATEST OF HEIGHTS AND IF YOU KNOW WHERE YOU STAND, THEN YOU KNOW WHERE TO LAND AND IF YOU FALL IT WON'T MATTER, CUZ YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'RE RIGHT territory?

The title alone will make you wonder?

I HATE COWBOYS & ALL DOGS GO TO HELL.  That is the title of singer-songwriter Chase Rice's new album and, for a country album, that's a pretty wordy title.  

 

Despite having a lot to say, he didn't make the cover of the album, that's his father Daniel Rice, who passed away when Chase was 22.

Speaking to TASTE OF COUNTRY's Billy Dukes, Chase explained the title:

That's two different songs on the album."I Hate Cowboys" is basically, "Mr. Steal Your Girl." Cowboy walks into a bar, steals your girl. He's better than you. Just beats you at your own game. "All Dogs Go to Hell" is a web of lies. It's all those obvious lies that you know, as soon as you hear the first line ... you'd get it.  g What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring There's no body to batter when your mind is your might So when you go solo, you hold your own hand And remember that depth is the greatest of heights And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land And if you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right

Let's start with the one that's "obvious lies," "All Dogs Go To Hell."

Everybody knows the devil went down to Florida
And everybody goes "Roll Tide" up in Georgia
John Deere's are blue and the bluegrass ain't green
John Cash ain't cool and George Strait ain't king

And boots ain't made for cowboys and Chevy don't make trucks
And fall ain't made for football and droppin' eight point bucks
Lynchburg ain't shippin' and sippin' a cold beer don't help
And I don't miss you, baby
And all dogs go to hell

Everybody knows, girl, you're the one to blame
I ain't gotta say I'm sorry 'cause I wouldn't change a thing
Me and the boys are on the way to celebrate and paint this town
I ain't halfway across it, ain't halfway to your house

And boots ain't made for cowboys and Chevy don't make trucks
And fall ain't made for football and droppin' eight point bucks
Lynchburg ain't shippin' and sippin' a cold beer don't help
And I don't miss you, baby
And all dogs go to hell

Coming off THE ALBUM, Chase's latest release has a lot to live up to.  THE ALBUM was my year-end pick for album of 2021:

Not a huge fan of country music.  Love and respect the output of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, think Brad Paisely is first rate but country isn't really my thing.  Then came this album.  I love every track on it.  I have no interest in the Grammys.  Drake withdrew from the 2022 Grammys.  I wasn't impressed with the awards before the latest nominations but after they managed to completely ignore Chase Rice?  The Grammys are grossly out of touch.  I love this album, I listen to THE ALBUM every day.  Every day.  That's how great it is.  I love his gravely voice.  I love the songs.  I think this is an album like Joni Mitchell's BLUE that will grow and grow in stature as the years pass.  It's hard for me to pick one song to highlight so I'll go with Elaine's pick, "Lonely If You Are."

And, by the way, that is one of the things about Chase Rice's music.  It brings you together.    Elaine and I can talk Chase Rice songs for hours.  He's an artist for people who love music.  You want to explore the lyrics, you want to debate which note he really nails, you're excited to play his music.

There are times when a line of a song -- or maybe two lines -- allude to something you've gone through yourself so you nod along and you like it.  That's one reason we can like a song.  Another reason, the artist doesn't allude, she or he submerges us in an experience that we've shared, puts a new take on it, and we can relate.  Chase offers that second reaction for me.  

Take "Bench Seat" which had me marveling over the prosidy -- how he matched the vocal to the lyrics -- and marveling over his voice and then the song goes really deep and really dark and becomes a tragic beauty.

I marvel over this album.  The last one was no fluke.  Chase's songwriting is amazing.  He captures life and turns it into art.  Musically, I marvel over his choices and how they work.  Lyrically, he could be a novelist.  His observations are sure and true.

Which will send some running, my last two sentences.  "Oh, Lord, I hear someone whining, it's one of those wordy songs over the same chord strummed repeatedly for two minutes in a row."  He's making music, not just ticking off words.  Check out "Bad Day To Be A Cold Beer" if you're in need of a throw down. 

I HATE COWBOYS & ALL DOGS GO TO HELL is 14 tracks of perfection. I'm reviewing the double disc vinyl version, by the way.  The album is available on various streaming platforms.  In addition, you can go to Chase Rice's YOUTUBE channel to hear it or his official website.  But, and this is the thing, you should hear it.

Every artists isn't for everyone and he may not be for you.  But he is an outstanding artist, a real artist.  So you should give him a listen to see if he's for you.  

THE ALBUM didn't get a Grammy nomination.  Another great album in 2021 was Diana Ross' THANK YOU.  And just weeks ago, she lost the Grammy to Michael Buble.   To Michael. Buble. 

Diana Ross who has set records around the world, Diana Ross who has sung songs that are part of a history and shared experience, Diana Ross who is a one of a kind artist who has had pop hits, soul hits, dance hits in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and now 20s (last year, "Turn Up The Sunshine" became a top twenty adult contemporary hit), Diana Ross who -- back me up on this, Oprah -- changed the musical world and, yes, the world.  She lost to the man who makes fun of his own name in beverage commercials.  That's how most people know him -- those that do.  He won for another generic album that sounds like every one he's done before.

Why did he win?

The Grammys are out of touch.   

So whether you're like me and angry that Diana Ross' Grammy was stolen and angry that Chase gets no Grammy recognition or angry that Beyonce didn't get album of the year or furious like that one person (Chris Brown) that Chris Brown didn't win, let's all come together in agreement that the Grammys are now crap and the last measure of anything of relevance in music today.  

If it helps any, this is a periodic phase that the Grammys go through.  Diana never won a Grammy in competition.  That means they never even gave the Supremes a Grammy.   Despite all the songs (hits!) he wrote and sang with the Miracles, Smokey Robinson never won a Grammy until 1988. The Beatles only won five Grammys while they were a band.  'Kat, they have eleven Grammys!'  Yes, and that's the organization trying to right their own wrong by handing the then-disbanded group six more Grammys after they were no more (from 1971 through 2008).  Sort of like how The Grammys ignored Janis Joplin until after she died when suddenly she was worthy of two nominations (but not wins).  The Rolling Stones, a historic band, never won a competitive Grammy until 1995 -- seven years after they were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  Sly and The Family Stone never won a Grammy.  

I don't expect The Grammys to be any better next year.  And that's a shame because if they were truly recognizing excellence in recording, Chase Rice would be looking at several nominations for I HATE COWBOYS & ALL DOGS GO TO HELL, an amazing exploration of  a life lived between "hooves and hell raisin'."

I hate cowboys
Their hats just look so stupid
Hate their wranglers and their boots
And all them jukebox, red dirt songs
Man, I hate cowboys
That think they're scared of nothin'
Run their mouths about bulls buckin'
But 8 seconds ain't that long
I wish they'd stay their ass at home

'Cause they think that they're John Wayne walking through the door
Turnin' every head, including yours
Pretty thing that's never seen one before
That's got a thing for bad guys, yeah
They ask her to dance while you're at the bar
Starts talking 'bout them Texas stars
Next thing you know, you got a broken heart
She's gone and that's why I hate cowboys