First off, can we please just take a minute and thank God for Hank Williams Jr.? Hank Jr. has become the embodiment of the every day, working class man through his real and honest music. One of the things we fans love the most about Hank Jr. is the fact that he is brutally honest and tends to say the things the rest of us wish we could say, but are leery to do so. Another reason why we love the legend is the fact that we can always rely on him to produce great, relatable music. You won’t see him chasing the current trends of mainstream country or trying to compete with the newbies, simply because he doesn’t have to, he is far above their league. In late 2015, the legend announced that he would be releasing his 37th studio album, It’s About Time, on January 15th, 2016. The record will be the first from Williams since joining his new label home, Nash Icon Records.
Hank premiered his lead single, “Are You Ready For The Country”, live on the 49th Annual CMA Awards on November 4th of last year. The song, which features Eric Church, was written by Neil Young and was previously recorded by Hank’s mentor Waylon Jennings. The single, a rowdy, pure Hank Jr. tune, also serves as the opening song on the record. For a more in-depth look at “Are You Ready For The Country”, check out my review here. “Club U.S.A” continues the rowdy, blues and jazz infused production theme, as Hank boasts about the paradise that is America. The rollicking, rocking “God Fearin’ Man” finds Hank describing himself, along with most blue collar, working middle class men (and women for that matter).
“Mental Revenge” is a good old kiss off song, aimed at a woman who left the narrator heartbroken. The song finds Hank naming all the things he hopes happens to her, and declares that he will have “sweet, sweet, sweet mental revenge” on her. The song tows the line between a funny, amen-to-that inspiring kiss off song and an angry, you-really-done-me-wrong revenge song. If anyone else had recorded this track, it might have come across a bit too vengeful, but Hank carries the song off in his usual tongue-in-cheek, not-too-serious way and gets away with it.
There are four standouts on this record. In my humble opinion, “God and Guns”, “Just Call Me Hank”, “Those Days Are Gone”, and “Wrapped Up Tangled Up in Jesus (God’s Got It)” are all standouts on this enjoyable record because they are Hank at his purest and his best. These types of songs are the ones that made fans love him. “Those Days Are Gone” finds Hank lamenting that the old days are gone and the times are changing, and not for the good. He’s saddened by the fact that David Allan Coe, Merle Haggard, and George Jones aren’t on the radio anymore. He also laments that the “country & western” way of life, which includes swinging’ doors, waltzing across the floor, and having a good ol’ rowdy time, is just about extinct. The production works to further drive this song home, with its honky tonk-infused sound that will cause the listener to reminisce back on the honky tonk sounds from days gone by. This is a song that most of the older generation, along with some of my generation, can definitely relate to. We miss the good old days when you could turn on the radio and hear Haggard, Jones, Jennings, Cash, and all the greats. We grieve for the simpler times, the golden age of country music and life.
“Just Call Me Hank” finds a very grounded Hank Jr. looking back over his illustrious career, acknowledging all that he has done and accomplished, but yet still insists that fans should just call him Hank. In the chorus, he goes on to say, “don’t call me an icon/ I don’t care about the Hall of Fame/ I’m just gonna live my life in my country boy kinda way” and “my name is Bocephus, but I’m really proud/ when someone just calls me Hank”.
The Southern Gospel and blues infused “Wrapped Up Tangled Up in Jesus (God’s Got it)” is absolute perfection. You can’t help but to shout amen to brother Hank as he preaches the good news about Jesus hooking us and saving us. The song opens with the narrator (Hank) fishing, then goes on to use that illustration to describe his personal relationship with Jesus. Hank describes Jesus as the hook on a fishing pole, with him being the fish on that hook. He finds himself so full of the joy of Jesus that he just has to tell everyone he knows. You can’t help but get caught up in the infectious energy of the song. “Wrapped Up Tangled Up in Jesus (God’s Got It)” is my second favorite song on this record, and my kid sister’s (who happened to be with me as I was listening to the record and taking notes for this review) new favorite Hank Jr. song. I wish I had a video of her reaction to this particular single, it would prove just how infectious the energy and lyrics are.
My favorite song on this solid album is “God and Guns”. From the production to the lyrical content to Hank’s vocal delivery, this track is pure Hank Williams Jr. perfection. I think this will be the song most fans will love the most, because I believe it’s one they’ll relate to the most. I know it speaks to me. As I said earlier, one reason we love Hank Jr. is the fact that he says the things we want to say, and he says it with conviction and honesty, with no fear of the opposition. “God and Guns” will no doubt push some buttons, as the message in this song happens to be a very hot topic right now.
Hank opens the song by setting the scene, “Last night I heard this politician/ talkin’ ‘bout a brand new mission/ liked his plan, but it came undone/ when he got around to God and guns,” and goes on to explain, “Well I don’t know how he grew up/ but it sure wasn’t down at the huntin’ club/ ‘cause if it was he’d understand/ just a little bit more about the workin’ man.” The chorus, “God and guns keep us strong/ that’s what this country was founded on/ we might as well give up and run/ if we let ‘em take our God and guns,” goes on to sum up the main message of the song. The song explains that, for a lot of us, when it comes to God and guns, it’s a way of life that has been ingrained in us and passed down through generations, a way of life that won’t die easily. It’s a way of life we love and one that we’re willing to die for. I have no doubt that “God and Guns” will find a place next to “A Country Boy Can Survive”, “Family Tradition”, and “Red, White, and Pink Slip Blues” in Hank’s catalogue of fan favorites.
As a whole, It’s About Time is a wonderful, enjoyable, solid record, but course, we would expect nothing less from Hank Jr. He’s steady and reliable when it comes to his music. There isn’t a song on this record that’s out of place, that doesn’t belong here. Each track is a perfect representation of Hank Williams Jr. and his musical catalogue. Hank may not call himself an icon or a legend, but make no mistake, Williams has made himself a place among the legends, and this record is evidence #5991 to that fact. It’s About Time kicked 2016 off with a bang.
Originally posted here.
