One of the best Bakersfield albums
Elliot Knapp | Seattle, Washington United States | 02/11/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"An entire album of songs about truck driving may sound like shudder-inducing gimmickery, but after listening to this album, it becomes obvious how naturally the subject of truck driving fits next to the classic Bakersfield subjects of drinking, prison and heartbreak. Throughout the album, the loneliness, transience and kinetic energy of truck driving are married with great effect to the emotional ups and downs of country singing, and Red Simpson proves himself an able interpreter of his own top-shelf songs.
Though he obviously wasn't as famous as Buck Owens or Merle Haggard, Simpson proves that country music has singer/songwriters who are worth listening to as well--his voice isn't as slick or commercial as Owens' (or even Haggard's, for that matter), but his hearty, everyman voice is perfect for these songs--while it's easy to picture Buck Owens in a cheesy turquoise fringe cowboy suit, Red Simpson actually sounds like he could be a truck driver. Bakersfield fans will probably already be familiar with the first track--"Truck Drivin' Man"--Red's version version is a perfect start to the album, and sets the album down the road. "Roll Truck Roll" is a super ballad with a truck driver lamenting that his life on the road has isolated him from his young son (it's also got one of the best "singin' in my truck" frames, when Simpson says "well, I guess I'll sing a little").
The backing band is classic Bakersfield--they absolutely cook through barnstorming songs like "Nitro Express" and "Six Days On the Road," and throw a little honky tonk swing in the mix on "My Baby's Waitin'" and "Runaway Truck" (honestly, some of these titles are pure gold). The mid-tempo "Happy Go Lucky Truck Driver" is one of my favorites, although the songs that deal with the realities of the truck driving life probably carry the most emotional weight. If you've got more than a casual interest in Bakersfield country, you'll probably enjoy this album a lot--sure, there's plenty of throwaway tracks (but what country album isn't full of throwaways--that's how it works!), but it's all well-played and sung, and the caliber of songwriting is as good as it gets."
Bakersfield twang meets trucker country
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/30/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Simpson was already minting his Bakersfield legend when he recorded this debut for Capitol in 1966. He had regular gigs around town (notably replacing Buck Owens at the Blackboard) and was one of Owens' regular songwriting partners, hitting with "Gonna Have Love" and later with "Sam's Place." He'd already written a few trucking songs when producer Ken Nelson came looking for someone to record an entire trucking-themed LP.
The album kicks off with a fine cover of Terry Fell's "Truck Drivin' Man" (the arrangement of which was borrowed in large part by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen a few years later) before swinging into Tommy Collins' title tune. Simpson gives voice to Collins' weary driver, contrasting a man's initial dream of freedom with the wreckage wrought by an absentee father. The collateral damage of the trucker's mobile life was never depicted with more clarity than on this recording.
Simpson sings fine tear-in-your beer country ballads like "Truck Driver Blues" and "My Baby's Waitin'," but there are happy-go-lucky moments, too. The Bakersfield Sound band lends an electric edge of bravado to Dave Dudley's "Six Days on the Road" and Simpson-Owens' originals "Happy Go Lucky Truck Driver" and "Runaway Truck." Even the explosive load of "Nitro Express" and novelty hitch of "Give Me Forty Acres" rev up terrific dance beats and gem-perfect stereo production from Nelson. A classic of the genre, this is not only one of the best truckin' albums ever recorded, but an essential of the Bakersfield country canon."
