Hank Williams Jr. Album: “Almeria Club Recordings”

Hank Jr. hasn't forgotten where he came from. Nor does he have a problem knowing where he wants to go. He doesn't care what's popular, what the market will bear, or "what people want" (or, more accurately, what a handful of executives tell them they want). Hank Jr. does what Hank Jr. likes to do, and this album is a loving sample of that. It is pure, in-your-face, "I like this music and you can either like it or lump it" attitude. More than that, it is beautifully executed and performed, a little laid-back, a little frenzied, a little blues, a little country -- and all good.

Hank Jr. is no longer living in his Daddy's shadow. Indeed, his own shadow has grown exceptionally lengthy. But he enjoys living NEXT to his Daddy's shadow. He remembers his father in two songs, "If the Good Lord's Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise," which are some of Hank Sr.'s lyrics newly set to music, and the Tee-Tot song, a beautiful blues ballad paying homage to a great old Alabama bluesman. Hank also remembers those blues roots with his own blues pseudonym, "Thunderhead Hawkins," who sings the blues through Hank Jr. the way "Luke the Drifter" sang gospel through Hank Sr.

Hank Jr. is not for everyone. Matter of fact, I never really counted myself a Hank Jr. fan. But after this album, I may go out of my way to find more of his work, if only because Hank Jr. is not one of those cookie-cutter cowboy [garbage] singers. The "country music industry" may have forgotten Hank Jr., Hank Sr., and their roots, but Hank Jr. has not. This is country music, the way it's supposed to sound, and Kid Rock knows it, even if the McGraw-Hills and their coattail-riders don't.

Bocephus puts everything into this one. This is a new sound that he has done mainly in live performances. He shows his true love for the blues and it shows. You will not be disappointed.

I must admit that my country tastes usually range along the lines of Mssrs. Cash and Nelson. (Not bad!) But I saw Hank Jr. and Kid Rock last year on CMT Crossroads and remember 'The F Word'. That song is funny, but Hank was being far too diplomatic when he sang about today's hot new country. It sounds like sh*t to me!

Anyway, being a big blues fan, I really enjoyed the feel that this album left me with. Last Pork Chop and Tee Top are as down-home rootsy as you can get without being named Robert Johnson or Leadbelly. It doesn't hurt that Reese Wynans, Stevie Ray Vaughan's keyboard player, was on most of this album. He also pulls off the acoustic Pork Chop song without sounding like he's poking fun at old-time blues artists! By the way, Big Top Women is hysterical, especially the beginning when he sings about bosoms the way kids used to sing about Apple Jacks cereal. But let's not forget the poignancy of the last two songs.

There must be two reasons Cross on the Highway is not played on country radio: it's too long and it has a gospel choir in it. Too bad! I only knew Derrick Thomas as a great football player (are you sure that wasn't Keith Jackson saying, "He led the Alabama Crimson Tide in all-time total sacks"?) and yet I found myself near tears by the end of the 5th time I heard this song. Imagine what it must've been like for Hank to write it with the memory of his friends Derrick and Mike Tellis' deaths fresh in his mind. Hank, that one song alone may just ticket you to heaven and cancel out your wild and crazy past.

America Will Survive! Damn right! Because I'm somewhat new to Hank Jr., I didn't realize this was a rewrite of A Country Boy Can Survive. Still appropriate. It's been almost two years since the attacks and this country, in spite of its problems, is still perservering. Now we need to find the terrorists and well you know the rest.

Overall, fine piece of work from a legend I should've listened to more. Let's hope that this is not Hank Jr.'s peak.

Having started as a Rockin'Randall fan and growing into a Hank Jr. fan, I find this cd to be just another turn on the twisting back country road which is the career of Hank Jr. Never one to be afraid to try something new, to experiment, to do things his way regardless of anyone else's opinion, Hank has recorded a fine collection of songs. Never doubt his talent, his sense of humor, his love of friends, or his pride. All these are expressed on this cd. Laugh at "Last Pork Chop" and "Big Top Women," let your jaw drop for "The F--- Word," cry for "Cross on the Highway," and swell with pride for"America Will Survive." This cd has it all.

Not the usual attitude-filled CD from Hank but it's still Hank. There are a few faster songs but mostly blues-type stuff. I give it 4 stars 'cause I want some more rowdy stuff from him. There is a little spoken word at the beginning of some of the songs. There is some good history/story stuff in the liner notes and a couple of older pictures. It has been said on some other website reviews that it was recorded in the Almeria Building so I was a little leary of the quality of the sound, don't worry, it sounds great. Really good quality, it doesn't have a "live" sound to it or anything. All in all, if you're a Hank fan you really don't need my recommendation to buy this CD, if you're not and you like his older stuff, this may not be the CD to start with.