Tim Culpepper Picks Up With Keith Whitley Crown With Ease

Tim Culpepper is a new traditionalist. It’s not hard to tell that from the Stetson he always wears and the good ol’ country boy’s clothing he is seen decked in in every photo. It is not forced – but rather feels the most natural thing for him to be – and there is no denying this man’s country roots. He grew up watching his father, Forest Culpepper (otherwise known as ‘Curly’) perform on stage as a musician to the likes of Hank Jr., and counted Marty Robbins and and Johnny Cash as friends. That’s some musical pedigree, and it prompted Tim to ask his father to teach him to play guitar, but only under the condition that when old enough, Tim would make a career of it in Nashville.

And that is certainly what Tim has done. Signed to Honkytone Records, Tim has taken the inspirations of his childhood and articulated them within a modern studio setting. The result is a 13-track album that does not sound dated, but rather familiar and comforting, and has already gained the attention of fans, radio DJs and music critics. Tim has received praise from Robert K. Oermann (Music Row), Chuck Dauphin (Billboard), Matt Bjorke (Roughstock), and Duncan Warwick (Country Music People Magazine), with Bjorke claiming “Tim Culpepper is an expert singer from the school of Haggard and Whitley and showcases ‘Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain’ to be a master class on just how to execute a traditional country music in a modern country music world. It’s that good”, and calling it “honky-tonk-­a-­riffic”. In addition, Warwick states that Tim’s album is, “almost certainly the country album of the year, and most likely one of the decade”. That’s a huge heap of praise for someone who’s just released their debut album, on an independent record label.

But it’s not just the critics who have been lapping up Tim’s music. Earlier this year (and as of July 2012), Tim spent a total of 13 weeks atop the HotDisc Top 40 Charts, 9 weeks with his debut single ‘Ghost’ and 4 weeks with the title track and his second single ‘Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain’. He has been the only artist ever to have two records in the same chart. Intrigued by his success, I pitched some questions to Tim to find out more about the man behind the hype, and what immediately came across is how overwhelmed and excited he is about the response to his music, as it has been two years in the making. He told me, “to have such praise and acceptance from my peers, for what is essentially my first impression on ‘mainstream’ radio as a songwriter and artist, is certainly a dream come true and definitely more than I had realistically expected.  But that said, I also understand that, in the ‘Music Biz’, you’re only as good as your last musical creation, so if this album has set the bar, I’ve got my work cut out to prove this was no fluke.”

However, comparisons to some of the greats aren’t to be taken too seriously. While Tim notes it’s an honor, he states, “In the end, I’m just trying to be the best Tim Culpepper I can be and let history decide whether I’m truly worthy of the comparisons.” It sounds like this man is fully grounded and isn’t letting all this attention go to his head (and surely those are building blocks for a true country star?). Tim believes that more traditional country music is making it back into the mainstream field, but contrary to what people have said, he doesn’t necessarily agree that he’s carrying the torch alone. In fact, among his record label (HonkyTone Records), producer (Elbert West) and social media promoters (Debbie Randle), he told me, “it takes a village to carry the proverbial ‘torch’.”

So just how has he constructed the album everybody is talking about? “I absolutely love writing and hope to always make a contribution to the albums I’m blessed to record, but in all things, you need balance. I love singing songs by other writers! It’s somewhat easier to sing a song you wrote, because you know what you were thinking and feeling when you wrote it, but to take another writer’s song and somehow convey their experience or memory, with all the emotion they felt while creating the words and melody, offers an artist a very unique challenge.” However, for this first album, Tim felt compelled to set the standard for his artistic style and build on his reputation, and thus wrote many of the fantastic songs on this album, although not without the help of his producer, who penned many country hits during the nineties, including those for Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw and John Michael Montgomery.

But this is just the beginning for Tim. From last December until the Country Radio Seminar in late February, he is conducting a promotional radio tour, and is currently considering offers to fully tour, with the filming of the video for ‘Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain’ this month. If that isn’t enough, he’s also writing songs for the next album, which judging by this one, I’m sure will be amazing. Finally, in between all this, Tim also likes to do impressions of distinctive-sounding celebrities as a favorite pastime. I know I can’t wait to hear those!

I have reviewed a few songs from Tim Culpepper’s album, ‘Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain’ to give you a flavor of the album. Tim has said that if you enjoy a couple of the songs, then you’ll enjoy all of them, so I hope this encourages you to take a listen.

Ghost: Although many people have reviewed this song by now, not enough can be said about Tim’s debut single on Honkytone Records. ‘Ghost’ is a head-bopping, truly Honky-Tonk lament characterized by Tim’s stand-out vocal slides, pedal steel guitar gliding its way behind the melody and prominent fiddle line carrying the riff of the song. Musically, there is a lot going on, with multiple melodies and harmonies played on varied array of instruments, that fills a sonic space and hits the listener full-on, whilst remaining interesting even with close-up analysis. However, it’s the lyrics that really make the song for me, and is a perfect example of country music’s ability to transcend the average love song and instead create an arguably bizarre narrative that people can still identify with. ‘Ghost’ is about just that, and can be interpreted as an actual ghost of a past lover, or simply a metaphorical one. With lines like, “I know that perfume you leave to linger in the air, take off her black dress, it wasn’t bought for you to wear”, it just makes me chuckle with the thought of a resident ghost trying on the current lover’s clothes and trying to appear human. The song is greatly enhanced by the video, which takes the meaning in the former, more literal version, and makes for a rather amusing introduction to Tim’s music.

Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain: The title track (and the second single) is a far more haunting, typical Honky-Tonk ballad, that makes full use of wailing fiddle, tickled mandolin, and piano that fills out the songs so much it could hold it all on its own. However, the addition of a lot of almost chaotic musical elements seems to be becoming a character of Tim’s music, but it blows my mind a little for the amount of effort gone into constructing the track. Usually I would argue against over-complicating the music, but here it seems to just work, and means no matter how many times I listen I still find something new to uncover within it. Lyrically, it taps into country music mythology and tradition very well, in the narrative of a man trying to drown his recent heartbreak with alcohol, knowing that when he gets to the middle of the bottle she’ll disappear, but it won’t be long before she’ll be back. This is a great, gritty heartache song, and perfect for playing in bars as well as on the radio.

His Old Boots: For my third song to review, I decided to choose an album track, to show the strength of the songs not released as singles. ‘His Old Boots’ appears a little autobiographical, as it is a tribute to a father whose old boots he worked so hard in his son rejected to fill, wanting new boots instead. The father explains, “don’t judge a man or his boots, by the hole in their soles, a lot of comfort and wisdom can be hidden in what’s weathered and old”, and when they lay him to rest the son regrets not filling his father’s boots and wishing he could go back to the old days. It plays with literals versus metaphors, and while it’s a lovely tribute to all the wise and hardworking fathers and grandfathers out there, it also reminds us not to disregard what is old and used, but rather see all the history and knowledge that is there. It is accompanied by a bluesy swung beat that is so true of more traditional-sounding country music, with lots of fiddle, mandolin, acoustic, electric and steel guitar, really giving the song a booming sonic resonance. In addition, the female vocal harmonies during the bridge really add a new element to the song and make the meaning and emotion of the song hit home. Towards the end another addition to the song creates an Irish feel and fades out, letting the thoughts settle and wander.

Overall there are some fantastic songs on this album, and Tim Culpepper is both a great songwriter and deliver of other people’s songs. The songs are very musically adept, nearly chaotic at times, but they add rather than detract, and the lyrics are deep and meaningful. Tim Culpepper is a new traditionalist, and a torch-bearer for the Honky-Tonk tradition, but he is also a credible artist who has big things to come in a modern country music world. As he says himself: “true and authentic traditional country music is alive and well today, so to all those country fans who love this style of music, don’t give up! We getting on with it as quickly as we can, but we do need your support!”