A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 3, 2007
Porter Wagoner hasn’t had a bona fide country hit in decades. And it’s doubtful that any songs from his new album, Wagonmaster, will get any significant airplay on commercial country radio.
But fans of country music should love this record, whether they’re longtime Porter fans, baby boomers who would get stoned and watch the rhinestoned Porter sing with Dolly Parton on his syndicated TV show, or alternative-country fans looking for authenticity. Even “hip” irony seekers who love to laugh at song titles like “Satan’s River” and corny recitations over whining steel guitars should like it.
Cynics might say this is just another comeback album by some aging, faded star produced by an adoring younger fan (in this case, respected country picker/singer/songwriter Marty Stuart) trying to duplicate what Rick Rubin did with Johnny Cash or what Joe Henry did with Solomon Burke. (This album is on the Anti label, on which Merle Haggard released his wonderful “comeback” album, If I Could Only Fly, a few years ago.) Maybe so. But who cares? Both Porter and Marty shine here.
Though he turns 80 this month and his voice isn’t what it used to be, Porter sings with an easy confidence. Meanwhile, Stuart’s arrangements — featuring lots of tasty steel and fiddle and no trace of Nashville overkill — give the record a timeless quality.
There are some straight-out honky-tonkers here. One of my favorites is a sawdust shuffler called “Be a Little Quieter,” the lament of a man imagining angry late-night visits from a past love. “Last night I heard you walking in the hallway/And your footsteps sounded like a marching band.” Then there’s “A Fool Like Me,” which would have been perfect on a Gram Parsons album.
“The Agony of Waiting” and “A Place to Hang My Hat” are outright country weepers. If you can’t feel the pain in the slow, mournful “The Late Love of Mine,” you must be numb. It’s got an early Willie Nelson feel to it (think “Opportunity to Cry” or “Something to Think About”). “Who Knows Right From Wrong” sounds like a belated sequel to Porter’s old classic “A Satisfied Mind.”
But the kind of song that suits Porter best is the story song. There are several on Wagonmaster.
“Albert Erving” is the tale of a lonely quasi-hermit from Wagoner’s youth. “Albert never held a woman or child/ You could see that loneliness had drove him wild.” My only complaint is that Porter’s spoken introduction — which takes up about two minutes in this three-minute song — basically tells the whole story. He should have just sung it.
The spoken-word recitation “Brother Harold Dee” is the story of a ne’er-do-well backwoods beatnik who ends up as a tent preacher, making his family proud. Even better is “My Many Hurried Southern Trips,” which Porter co-wrote with Parton. It’s the tale of a bus driver who seems to know the life stories of all his passengers — unwed mothers, ex-cons, soldiers. “And the folks that ride got a reason to ride,” the narrator sings.
But the center of gravity of this album is “Committed to Parkview,” written for Wagoner by none other than Johnny Cash. Porter explains humbly in the spoken introduction that, while he’s been “a guest in a lot of great places in my lifetime,” he also was a “guest” at a psychiatric institution called Park View.
This isn’t the first time Wagoner has tackled this sad chapter in his life. One of the strangest things ever to come from Music Row is Wagoner’s 1972 song “The Rubber Room,” a stark musical memory of his Park View stay.
In “Committed to Parkview,” the narrator mainly concentrates on his fellow “guests.” It’s in Nashville, so there are lots of would-be singers and even the ex-drummer for some unnamed “superstar.”
“There’s a girl who cries above me, loud enough to wake the dead/They don’t know what she has taken that has scrambled up her head.” Porter sings with sympathy and relief that he’s been lucky all these years to avoid going back.
The hidden bonus songs are true treats of this album. Stuart convinced Porter to recite part of his old hit “Men With Broken Hearts” and, best of all, to sing Hank Williams’ “(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle.” It’s pure hillbilly soul, a suitable final word for an album full of hillbilly soul.
Also recommended:
*Coat of Many Colors, My Tennessee Mountain Home, and Jolene by Dolly Parton. Parton made some wonderful music with Wagoner in the ’60s and early ’70s, but these three albums, recently rereleased by Legacy, show there was way too much talent in the little gal from Locust Ridge, Tenn., to keep her under the thumb of any other musician — even a giant like Wagoner.
Parton, of course, became a megastar, a caricature, and a punch line for those who couldn’t see beyond her bustline. And, sadly, her music began to suffer by the late ’70s as she seemingly left behind the bluegrass-informed sound represented on these albums.
But these three CDs, originally released between 1971 and 1974, show her at the peak of her songwriting. At her best — and these three albums might be her best — Parton’s songs are sentimental, sexy, and smart.
Most of the songs that made her reputation are here, including the title songs of the records plus “I Will Always Love You” (on Jolene). But there are lesser-known jewels too.
And though Wagoner frequently is portrayed as the villain trying to hold Parton back, one of the coolest tunes on Coat of Many Colors is a Bizarro World Wagoner song called “If I Lose My Mind,” which concerns the estranged wife of an abusive swinger. “He done things to me I couldn’t understand/He made me watch him love another woman/And he tried to make me love another man. ... I couldn’t stand his torture any longer/I was afraid of what I’d do if I stayed there.”
Friday, August 03, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
A STOP IN THE SLIDE?
I haven't seen this anyplace else -- and I missed it myself last week -- but there's a new SurveyUSA poll that shows Sen. Pete Domenici's approval ratings going up slightly.
According to the poll -- 600 automated phone interviews condicted July 13-15 -- 55 percent approve of Domenici's performance and 41 percent disapprove. The approval score is up four points since the previous poll in June.
The bump in popularity is small and perhaps statistically insignificant (margin of error is 4.1 percent), but it's the first time since February that Domenici's numbers haven't gone down.
ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: RETURNING A FAVOR FOR INDIE VOTERS
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 2, 2007
I’ve read so many presidential preference polls lately, trying to track Gov. Bill Richardson’s progress in various states, that my eyes get bleary just thinking about polls.
Quick synopsis: According to the Real Clear Politics Web site Wednesday afternoon, the governor was averaging about 10 percent in Iowa, 8 percent in New Hampshire and 2.5 percent in South Carolina. The site didn’t have any recent polls from Nevada, but in June, he was pulling 6 to 7 percent there.
But one polling figure that grabbed my attention was this week’s American Research Group’s Iowa poll that showed Richardson leading among independents who plan to vote in that state’s primary.
Richardson scored an impressive 25 percent of that vote. Barack Obama runs second in this category with 21 percent of the “no-party” vote in the poll. Richardson’s number among the registered Democrats in the poll is only 10 percent. So it’s obvious the independent vote is helping his poll numbers. This week’s ARG poll showed Richardson with 13 percent overall.
Though not as dramatic as in Iowa, Richardson is doing better with independents than with Democrats in New Hampshire as well. Richardson is tied with John Edwards for third place among the “undeclareds” (as they’re known in the Granite State) who intend to vote in the Democratic primary. Only 6 percent of registered New Hampshire Democrats are supporting Richardson, according to the poll.
Fueling my fantasy: My hope is Richardson will be inspired by his good showing with independents in these other states to work for a change here in New Mexico.
Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire and other enlightened states that allow independents to participate in party caucuses or primaries, New Mexico permits only registered party members to vote in primaries.
I’ve beat this drum before, but, to steal a phrase from the Weekly World News’ Ed Anger, it still makes me pig-biting mad.
As taxpayers, I and my fellow declined-to-states (as independents are called here) help pay for the primary, which a secretary of state spokesman last year said costs $400,000 to $500,000. But we’re not allowed to participate. Last year, about 20 percent of Santa Fe County residents were independents or members of minor parties.
Taxation without representation? Maybe we should dump tea in the Santa Fe River.
To be clear, New Mexico’s Feb. 5 Democratic presidential caucus is not funded by taxpayers. (The state Republicans could have a presidential caucus if they wanted but apparently they’ve decided against it.) The party pays for and operates the caucus in this state, so I suppose they have the right to exclude anyone they want.
But wouldn’t it be nice if those poll numbers I mentioned convinced Richardson of the value of allowing independents to vote in our own caucuses and primaries? I’ve heard he has a little bit of influence in the state Democratic Party. If the independents help give Richardson a strong showing in the early primaries, wouldn’t he owe independents a favor?
Auditor as enforcer: Last year, when Hector Balderas jumped into the state auditor’s race, many pointed out he’s a lawyer, not an accountant. But, Balderas said this wouldn’t be a handicap, noting “part of the duties of the auditor is enforcement.” He said having experience as a prosecutor would benefit the auditor’s office.
Apparently he was serious.
Balderas, spotted at the Capitol on Wednesday, told me he recently exercised a little-known auditor power he says no auditor has done before — issuing subpoenas.
This was done in May as part of an ongoing investigation of a company hired for an ambitious project meant to bring wireless Internet to all Sandoval County. The county and the state have spent about $3 million on the project, which has seen little progress over the past two years.
The two men subpoenaed — Jonathan Mann and Dewayne Hendricks— “fled the state” after the investigation began, Balderas said. Hendricks was chief operating officer of Sandoval Broadband Inc., and he resigned after Balderas began his investigation. Mann was chief executive officer of Olla Grande Inc., which also was working on the Sandoval County wireless project.
The Caledonian Record in Vermont reported last month that Hendricks is involved in a $12 million public-private wireless Internet project in Vermont and New Hampshire.
In 2005, Mann told The New Mexican that the project was expected to take five years and cost roughly $9 million. He said officials weren’t trying to get the project done sooner because much of the technology is still developing and prices were expected to drop significantly in the next two to three years.
The Sandoval County Commission voted last month to pursue a lawsuit to recover money spent on the project.
Balderas said the believes this is the first time a state auditor has used the subpoena power. The Santa Fe judge who signed the subpoenas, state District Judge Daniel Sanchez, seemed surprised at the request, Balderas said.
The auditor hinted this won’t be the last time he uses his subpoena power.
August 2, 2007
I’ve read so many presidential preference polls lately, trying to track Gov. Bill Richardson’s progress in various states, that my eyes get bleary just thinking about polls.
Quick synopsis: According to the Real Clear Politics Web site Wednesday afternoon, the governor was averaging about 10 percent in Iowa, 8 percent in New Hampshire and 2.5 percent in South Carolina. The site didn’t have any recent polls from Nevada, but in June, he was pulling 6 to 7 percent there.
But one polling figure that grabbed my attention was this week’s American Research Group’s Iowa poll that showed Richardson leading among independents who plan to vote in that state’s primary.
Richardson scored an impressive 25 percent of that vote. Barack Obama runs second in this category with 21 percent of the “no-party” vote in the poll. Richardson’s number among the registered Democrats in the poll is only 10 percent. So it’s obvious the independent vote is helping his poll numbers. This week’s ARG poll showed Richardson with 13 percent overall.
Though not as dramatic as in Iowa, Richardson is doing better with independents than with Democrats in New Hampshire as well. Richardson is tied with John Edwards for third place among the “undeclareds” (as they’re known in the Granite State) who intend to vote in the Democratic primary. Only 6 percent of registered New Hampshire Democrats are supporting Richardson, according to the poll.
Fueling my fantasy: My hope is Richardson will be inspired by his good showing with independents in these other states to work for a change here in New Mexico.
Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire and other enlightened states that allow independents to participate in party caucuses or primaries, New Mexico permits only registered party members to vote in primaries.
I’ve beat this drum before, but, to steal a phrase from the Weekly World News’ Ed Anger, it still makes me pig-biting mad.
As taxpayers, I and my fellow declined-to-states (as independents are called here) help pay for the primary, which a secretary of state spokesman last year said costs $400,000 to $500,000. But we’re not allowed to participate. Last year, about 20 percent of Santa Fe County residents were independents or members of minor parties.
Taxation without representation? Maybe we should dump tea in the Santa Fe River.
To be clear, New Mexico’s Feb. 5 Democratic presidential caucus is not funded by taxpayers. (The state Republicans could have a presidential caucus if they wanted but apparently they’ve decided against it.) The party pays for and operates the caucus in this state, so I suppose they have the right to exclude anyone they want.
But wouldn’t it be nice if those poll numbers I mentioned convinced Richardson of the value of allowing independents to vote in our own caucuses and primaries? I’ve heard he has a little bit of influence in the state Democratic Party. If the independents help give Richardson a strong showing in the early primaries, wouldn’t he owe independents a favor?
Auditor as enforcer: Last year, when Hector Balderas jumped into the state auditor’s race, many pointed out he’s a lawyer, not an accountant. But, Balderas said this wouldn’t be a handicap, noting “part of the duties of the auditor is enforcement.” He said having experience as a prosecutor would benefit the auditor’s office.
Apparently he was serious.
Balderas, spotted at the Capitol on Wednesday, told me he recently exercised a little-known auditor power he says no auditor has done before — issuing subpoenas.
This was done in May as part of an ongoing investigation of a company hired for an ambitious project meant to bring wireless Internet to all Sandoval County. The county and the state have spent about $3 million on the project, which has seen little progress over the past two years.
The two men subpoenaed — Jonathan Mann and Dewayne Hendricks— “fled the state” after the investigation began, Balderas said. Hendricks was chief operating officer of Sandoval Broadband Inc., and he resigned after Balderas began his investigation. Mann was chief executive officer of Olla Grande Inc., which also was working on the Sandoval County wireless project.
The Caledonian Record in Vermont reported last month that Hendricks is involved in a $12 million public-private wireless Internet project in Vermont and New Hampshire.
In 2005, Mann told The New Mexican that the project was expected to take five years and cost roughly $9 million. He said officials weren’t trying to get the project done sooner because much of the technology is still developing and prices were expected to drop significantly in the next two to three years.
The Sandoval County Commission voted last month to pursue a lawsuit to recover money spent on the project.
Balderas said the believes this is the first time a state auditor has used the subpoena power. The Santa Fe judge who signed the subpoenas, state District Judge Daniel Sanchez, seemed surprised at the request, Balderas said.
The auditor hinted this won’t be the last time he uses his subpoena power.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
SOMEONE ALERT STEPHEN COLBERT!
The New Mexican's Natalie Storey reports that a big ol' black bear ruined breakfast for the Esqibel family of Santa Fe while camping in the Jemez Mountains. READ STORY HERE
At least Yogi would sleep 'til noon before he started grabbing pic-a-nic baskets.
HUMBLING
I just saw this fun little widget on Avelino's ($25,000!) blog (he says he got it from NewMexiKen's ($27,000) blog) .
So not only is my blog second-rate, it's worthless!
(I don't know what criteria this instant analysis uses -- it takes about a half second to determine your blog's value. But it's on the Internet, so it must be true.)
UPDATE: Thanks to the comment below from Ken, I checked it again and found he's correct. I'm worth something! A quick investigation of the html reveals that I had used a semi-colon where a colon belong. (Colbert had some thoughts on the semi-colon recently: Are you a colon or a coma? Make up your mind. We're at war!)
So in the words of Emily Litella, "Never mind."
So not only is my blog second-rate, it's worthless!
(I don't know what criteria this instant analysis uses -- it takes about a half second to determine your blog's value. But it's on the Internet, so it must be true.)
UPDATE: Thanks to the comment below from Ken, I checked it again and found he's correct. I'm worth something! A quick investigation of the html reveals that I had used a semi-colon where a colon belong. (Colbert had some thoughts on the semi-colon recently: Are you a colon or a coma? Make up your mind. We're at war!)
So in the words of Emily Litella, "Never mind."
My blog is worth $26,533.38.
How much is your blog worth?
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