Stop the World and Let Me Off - John Doe, Belew, Carl
Husbands and Wives - John Doe, Miller, Roger [Coun
'Till I Get It Right - John Doe, Henley, Larry
It Just Dawned on Me - John Doe, Cervenka, Exene
(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I - John Doe, Trader, William
The Night Life - John Doe, Breeland, Walt
The Sudbury Nickel - John Doe, Sadies
Before I Wake - John Doe, Sadies
I Still Miss Someone - John Doe, Cash, Johnny [1]
The Cold Hard Facts of Life - John Doe, Anderson, Bill [Voc
Take These Chains from My Heart - John Doe, Heath, Hy
Help Me Make It Through the Night - John Doe, Kristofferson, Kris
Are the Good Times Really Over for Good - John Doe, Haggard, Merle
Detroit City (I Want to Go Home) - John Doe, Dill, Danny
Pink Mountain Rag - John Doe, Sadies
In true honky tonk style, Country Club is the bastard child of a drunken — promise. A post show hang-out between X & the Knitters John Doe — and The Sadies produced the idea to join forces to a make an album of country s... more »ongs. Both rock n roll and country music are littered with the ghosts of broken promises, but this one was destined to become reality. Timeless sounds abound on Country Club, driven by Doe s gorgeously rough-hewn vocals, the dueling thousand pound chops of the guitar-wielding Good brothers and The Sadies world class rhythm section of Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean. Here,
the Countrypolitan sound of late 1960s Nashville is filtered through the telecaster-based honky tonk of Bakersfield, CA and the results are simply stunning. Classic tunes by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings stand alongside corkers by Tammy
Wynette and Roger Miller, all of them getting unique treatments by Doe and The Sadies. The album also features four originals - three from The Sadies and one courtesy of the timeless pairing of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. On Country Club John Doe and The Sadies find the perfect blend of the reverent and the experimental, resulting in a slightly psychedelic
brew that just might pass for straight if you re not lookin .« less
In true honky tonk style, Country Club is the bastard child of a drunken
promise. A post show hang-out between X & the Knitters John Doe
and The Sadies produced the idea to join forces to a make an album of country songs. Both rock n roll and country music are littered with the ghosts of broken promises, but this one was destined to become reality. Timeless sounds abound on Country Club, driven by Doe s gorgeously rough-hewn vocals, the dueling thousand pound chops of the guitar-wielding Good brothers and The Sadies world class rhythm section of Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean. Here,
the Countrypolitan sound of late 1960s Nashville is filtered through the telecaster-based honky tonk of Bakersfield, CA and the results are simply stunning. Classic tunes by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings stand alongside corkers by Tammy
Wynette and Roger Miller, all of them getting unique treatments by Doe and The Sadies. The album also features four originals - three from The Sadies and one courtesy of the timeless pairing of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. On Country Club John Doe and The Sadies find the perfect blend of the reverent and the experimental, resulting in a slightly psychedelic
brew that just might pass for straight if you re not lookin .
"There's been a trend lately in country music: All of the best country albums have been created by non-country artists. I won't go into what this says about the state of contemporary country music (I could rant all night); I will merely point out that John Doe and The Sadies have crafted a superb country album that is everything country music is supposed to be about: sorrow, heartbreak, and the struggles of the everyman in a world gone crazy.
Granted, they do this mostly through covers. Actually, if there were more original tunes on here, the album might not fare so well (nothing against the songwriting abilities of either artist; the original tunes are all well-written and stand up against the covers). The fact that these are traditional country tunes revisited suggests a merging of old and new that is endearing and, quite simply, "right." The artists cover songs written or made famous by such legends as Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash (not to mention all the other artists who had hit versions of these songs; these are indeed classics). The result is an album--aptly titled COUNTRY CLUB, and we'll ignore the mediocre Travis Tritt hit of the same name--that merges a punk/alternative air with traditional country heartbreak. It's masterful, it's original, and it's a unique way of re-imagining these standard tunes, and is a welcome addition to the collection of anyone who thinks genuine country music has died. Hopefully, COUNTRY CLUB will inspire most of today's country stars to get their butts in gear and start writing/recording songs like they used to--straight from the heart, no chaser."
Finally - John Doe follow's up 'Silver Wings'
Tahoe Rich | Lake Tahoe | 05/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After hearing John Doe's cover of 'Silver Wings' on the Knitters' debut album I've been waiting for more. I've patiently waited and purchased every CD, hoping for more of what I fell in love with. Well, here it is!!! An entire CD of incredible country tunes performed with purity and taste.
This CD takes Country & Western from the 50's & 60's and brings it up to date, without loosing the purity of the original music, and completely ignoring the past 30 years of Nashville noise.
John Doe delivers with incredible feeling, the Sadies accompany with energy and sensitivity."
What The Knitters was to X, this is to The Knitters.
William P. Davis | So. Lake Tahoe, CA United States | 05/31/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have a soft spot for some country music covers. This is interesting. John Doe is Americana. The songs are taken seriously. It's not a parody. These songs are given their due in a heartfelt manner. Might I suggest, if you like this, Robbie Fulks' "13 Hillbilly Giants" is awesome and Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers "Sleepless Nights" is the best."
The Sountrack for our Summer
Julia Nishihira Damir | San Francisco, CA United States | 07/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I graduated from high school in 1989 and was never a punk fan. I had heard of X and Exene and John Doe in a vague, way-too-cool-for-a-girl-who-worships-Duran-Duran kind of way. Fast forward twenty years, a marriage, a mortgage and two kids later: I heard John Doe interviewed on Fresh Air in May and immediately ordered Country Club (it was his rendition of 'A Fool Such As I' that did it, and it gets me every time). I was wary of ordering an entire album, as opposed to just a few songs on itunes (having been burned so many times in the past), but was so delighted when I realized that my money was well spent! My boys are five and nine years old and they love this CD as well. It's such a delight to hear the five year old's squeaky voice singing about husbands and wives! We played Country Club virtually non-stop while camping in June, and I know that years in the future, when I hear Country Club, it will remind me of a very happy summer when the kids were little. Thank you, John Doe and the Sadies!"
+1/2 -- Terrific set of classic country covers from X/Knitte
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 07/07/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"John Doe's penchant for country and roots has never been a secret. Though originally pegged as a punk rock singer with X, the acoustic spin-off Knitters and his solo work demonstrated he could sing effectively in quieter settings. Paired here with the Sadies, he capitulates fully to the classic country music that's so clearly influenced him. Best of all, he sings in a relaxed style that unlocks new levels of tone and tempo. The Sadies, for their part, are as tight as the Nashville A-listers who originally cut these tunes behind Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and Bobby Bare. But as easily as they pick the original fiddle-and-steel instrumental "Ping Mountain Rag" and Western-tinged guitar hoedown "The Sudbury Nickel," they also render "The Night Life" with enough atmosphere to suggest the debauchery of "House of the Rising Sun" and add a spacey edge to "'Till I Get it Right."