Every track resonates with authenticity.
James has a vocal style that harkens back to the Grand Old Opry and at times reminds me of some old favorites like Marty Robbins, Hank Snow and Faron Young. The natural catch in his throat as he sings conjures up a vision of tooling down a country highway through the bible belt and tuning into a country station. There are places on this recording where our imaginary '40's sedan has turned off the highway and is headed down an unpaved narrow lane with a cloud of dust trailing behind. The upright bass slaps, the dobro slides, and as the blistering guitar and mandolin solos kick in, cousin Jethro sitting in the back seat has his head hit the roof as we charge over a big bump. There are sad ballads where James sounds as lonesome as Hank Williams ever did.