Search - King Country :: Five Star Dive Bar

David O. (ducky) from STONE MTN, GA
Reviewed on 4/3/2011...

This is a country CD. King Country was assembled in 2000 by lead singer/songwriter Frank Sullivan. Sullivan's North Carolina upbringing found him fronting or playing lead guitar for several funk and new wave bands who played the club and college circuit around his native Jacksonville. In 2002, the seven members of King Country recorded Five Star Dive Bar, a 12-song traditional country collection. The album's self-titled cut became the first single in early 2003. Bio By by Rick Cohoon

There's just some music that sounds better in a truck

04/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's just some music that sounds better in a truck: Five Star Dive Bar by King Country deserves a hallowed place in any country-lovin' truck! The music is raw and rootsy--the lyrics are poignant and contemporary. This guy's voice is as genuine country as it gets!
1973 Buick Skylark (that's "one-nine-seven-three") is an ode to the days of youth when traveling free was a man's last stand before surrendering to adulthood and responsibility. A lyrically-impressive song that speaks to a whole generation!
This is an album that makes no apologies for lifestyle. It's hard-workin', tell-it-like-it-is, straight-ahead stand-up Country! If you're part of the big city hip hop or rap scene, you probably won't "get" this album. If you're one of the majority of Americans who lives outside of the "cool" major urban markets, you'll wonder why this isn't all over the radio!
The rootsy, non-pretentious voice of Frank Sullivan shines through on Carolina Woman. Is that a touch of the Nashville Skyline version of Bob Dylan I hear? Simply Awesome! Now, if you don't know about Nashville Skyline or Bob Dylan, shame on you!
Speaking of Dylan, I just loved track 9, the updated "If Not For You". Doesn't sound anything like the George Harrison version of the song from Nineteen Seventy-something...so I wouldn't even call it a "cover".
If you "hear" me comin' down the road in the "Big White Truck", what you'll probably be hearing is Five Star Dive Bar pumping the doors and windows to the rhythm of pure, 21st Century Country!"