Well I’m sitting here on the computer at my parents farm in the middle of nowhere. It’s -10C out, which really isn’t that bad considering it’s a very cold winter so far. So today I decided why not finally open up my new Corb Lund CD and give it a listen? So here I am!
I will be “somewhat” reviewing Corb Lund’s new album “Losin’ Lately Gambler” album. While writing the review (and listening to the album), I’m having myself a St James Pale Ale by Half Pints Brewery in Winnipeg, Manitoba. First about the beer, it’s a light tasting Pale Ale, the type of beer that if you enjoy an Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale or a Molson Canadian, you will love this beer! It’s cloudy in appearance compared to a Canadian or Keiths but it’s a very smooth beer, light enough for picky prairie folks to enjoy it, yet tasty enough for a beer connoisseur to enjoy for something on the lighter side. The beer is 4.8% and has an IBU of 11.
Well this was supposed to be about me reviewing Losin Lately Gambler… so here we go! The album starts out with a folky tune titled Horse Doctor, Come Quick. The song has some light fiddle, and lots of banjo.. as any prairie country song does. It’s giving me shivers, pretty damned good! Half way through the song.. it turns somewhat jazzy, I really am liking this song. “Veterinary surgeon, horse doctor come quick, a dip and a drench, a mineral lick…” ..Ah mineral licks, a block of salt that are used for cattle, I remember we would take off a chunk of that stuff when being little and the farm kids would lick it as if it’s a snack.
Track 2. It’s Steer Rider’s Blues.. the title gives it away, a very bluesy tune, but of course since it’s Corb Lund, it has a country sound to it. Another toe tappin’ song. “I won a bunch of buckles by the time I turned fourteen, and still the pretty ladies don’t want nothin’ to do with me”. This bluesy/countryish/1960s sounding song is good too!
Track 3. A Game in Town Like This. As you can tell, this album is already very farm/agricultural/cowboy themed. As a farm boy myself, I can relate to a lot of this album already and this is only track 3. I’m familiar with this song as I hear it quite a bit on CBC Radio 2’s Radio 2 Drive. This is a great slower song, it can almost be a ballad. This is a song I like to listen to while driving down the #2 highway in Manitoba headin’ to the farm to see the family at the farm. “Who would go to Vegas with a game in town like this?”
Track 4. Alberta Says Hello. This song shows the love of Alberta that Corb Lund has, this could be one of those epical songs that could be used tourism reasons, like Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon. Another soft country song. I’ve noticed so far that Corb has a much lighter sound for his songs than most country songs. It’s almost not even country music, more a folk-country, not much steel guitar and not much twang.. personally I prefer it without it anyways! “Tell her that the Oilers are scorin’ goals, tell her that Alberta says hello!”
Track 5. Talkin’ Veterinarian Blues. Wow this seems like the most country style song of the album. Yet it’s another acoustic that I can tap my foot too. “Tag in the ear, shots in the hip, the dehornin’ paste and… snip, snip, snip. Welcome to the world little buddy, it’s no picnic.” This song reminds me of growing here on the farm, every spring my dad and his friends would spend a Sunday afternoon dehorning the calves and giving antibiotics. I don’t know how those guys did it year after year, but they did!
Track 6. It’s Hard to Keep a White Shirt Clean. This has a very je ne sais quoi sound to it, has a country sound to it but jazzy too. A song about keeping a white shirt clean. Wow, a true farmer wouldn’t care about keepin’ a white shirt clean, hell my farming dad constantly wears the same plaid shirt day after day with a big hole over the pocket area, yet refuses to get it fixed or throw it out. “A half a cup of bleach, in with your sheets, it’s hard to keep a white shirt clean”.
Track 7. Long Gone to Saskatchewan. Wow.. we’re at track 7 already? Okay, it’s time for me to refill my glass with Half Pint’s St James Pale Ale! One minute… Okay I’m back with a foamin’ glass of St James Pale Ale.. now to listen to Long Gone to Saskatchewan! I’m very familiar with this song too. As the title says, long gone to Saskatchewan. Basically a few years ago when the price of an acre in Alberta went through the roof, many Albertan farmers moved to Saskatchewan for cheaper land. Lots of stand up bass in this song, which I like, I really like this song and it’s definitely his most recent hit. “Well it’s a hell of a battle to try to raise cattle in the prettiest place on the hoof. Oil refiners and lot sub-dividers got land prices right through the roof.”
Track 8. Devil’s Best Dress. This song is very different, reminds me a bit of Tequila Sunrise by the Eagles. However, I don’t care for the song but the lyrics are solid as always. I’ll probably skip this song when it’s on my iPod. “I can’t say I love you, I don’t hardly know you. They warned me about you from the start.”
Track 9. The Only Long Rider I Know. This song starts out rockin’, very rockin’ for a country musician, a country rock theme song, the guitar riff reminds me of something by the Guess Who circa 1973, that being said, it’s not the best song on the album, but it’s a good one anyways. I could see this on the local rock radio stations on the prairies, like why not? Actually.. this song is actually growing on me as the song is playing. “He’s shed a few good tears between Criollo ears, and all he knows is the trail goes on, it goes on and on.”
Track 10. Chinook Wind. Ah Chinook.. Something we don’t experience here in Manitoba. Is it just me or is Corb’s voice more twangier than all of the other songs on this album? Vocal wise this the most country song on the album, but yet another solid song.. so far I’m very impressed with this album and the album is near finished! “If you need me you can find me here waitin’ on a change.”
Track 11. This is My Prairie. A sad song about Corb’s love of the Canadian prairies, this flat flat place that has wheat, oats, barley, cattle and sunflowers as far as the eyes can see! A bit of banjo which is neat.. where did the banjo go in the previous songs? I like this song too but not one of my favourites on the album. The song is a criticism of the environmental damage occurring on the prairies from the mega-oil drilling projects taking place all over the prairies, a sad ballad about the part of Canada Corb calls home. “My children are sick and the aquifer’s bled, they want a big pipeline right thru Pop’s grave.”
Track 12. Time to Switch to Whiskey (Live in Australia). The final track of the album. Wow we’re already here. I LOOOOOVE this song, as a prairie boy, I relate to this, growing up sitting in the back of the truck drinking a beer with dad, my uncle and a few cousins.. then as soon as the beer’s gone, time to drink whiskey and Coke. This song is a classic even live. I’m very happy to see that this song is actually included on the album as a bonus. Toe tappin’ redneck anthem for any prairie folk. “Smoke your grass and fish for bass and burn that purple gas.”
Wow, now the album is done. So what’s my thought? Well this is the very first country album I have ever owned in my life (if you don’t count Les Trois Accords’ Live album En Beau Country). I love it, however I hate country music. Corb’s music appeals to me though. This new album is very solid, some of his best work is on this album. He’s proven time and time again that he’s one of the best songwriters and musicians in general in Canadian country music and Canadian music in general. The whole album brings back memories of growing up on the memories, especially with themes of raisin’ cattle, veterinarians, drivin’ down the road, on the brink of bankruptcy on the farm. Don’t give me some twangy steel guitar filled album about John Deere tractors and Fishin’ in the Dark, this is an amazing album! Now I wish he would return to Brandon, Manitoba for a concert, or even better.. have a small town Manitoba tour! Play towns like Virden, Reston, Boissevain.
While the album is now done, my beer is not, so time to finish my beer!
Cheers!
Tracklist:
- Horse Doctor, Come Quick (3:56)
- Steer Rider’s Blues (3:01)
- A Game in Town Like This (4:21)
- Alberta Says Hello (3:22)
- Talkin’ Veterinarian Blues (3:40)
- It’s Hard to Keep a White Shirt Clean (for Willie P. Bennett) (2:34)
- Long Gone to Saskatchewan (3:31)
- Devil’s Best Dress (2:32)
- The Only Long Rider I Know (3:59)
- Chinook Wind (3:31)
- This is My Prairie (3:49)
- Rye Whiskey/Time to Switch to Whiskey (Live in Australia) (4:38)
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