Album Review – Hellbound Glory’s “Damaged Goods”
Frequent visitors to Saving Country Music know how much of a proponent of Reno, NV’s Hellbound Glory I am. Ever since I heard their second album Old Highs & New Lows over a year ago, there may be no band I’ve pushed harder for, and the album went on to be SCM’s 2010 Album of the Year. If you want to accuse Saving Country Music of being the house organ of Hellbound Glory, guilty as charged. I’m not just drinking the Hellbound Kool-Aid, I’m slapping two fingers on the inside of my arm, looking for a vein to mainline the stuff right in.
Their third official album Damaged Goods offers a shift in their approach, without sacrificing the authentic themes, energy, or the peerless wit in the songwriting that makes Hellbound Glory so engaging. The exit of the band’s drummer “Chico”, and a slightly, and I emphasize slightly tamer approach to the lyricism brings a lot more of an open sound to the band, and a new focus on what has always been their best asset: the songwriting prowess of frontman Leroy Virgil.
Damaged Goods is an excellent album with some excellent songs. The standouts are the heart-pumping opening track “Bastard Child”, and the gear-shifting, slow and soulful “Better Hope You Die Young” that embodies the heart of the Damaged Goods theme. The funnest track on the album is “She Left Me In Modesto”, where Virgil proves he can not only flash his pen with witty turns of of phrase, but also with telling a story. The song is so smart, you can’t help but picture yourself the protagonist, with the big payoff lyric at the end making you laugh out loud. “Lost Cause” is an upbeat song with a downbeat message, built on a bed of steel guitar and sad realism.
I caution, at first smell, the reaction from some familiar with Hellbound Glory will be that there’s no drums, and no drugs, and already I see this as a big talking point about this album going into the release. There is drums, or at least percussion on every song. They could have added more drums, or possibly even had Chico play on this album, but instead decided to take a minimal approach to compliment the songwriting, and to more fairly represent what they do live, which these days features no drummer from financial necessity, just Leroy Virgil sitting on a bass drum backwards to keep the beat.
And the drug references are still there, just slightly more subtle. Hellbound may have been unfairly pigeon-holed by some from Old Highs & New Lows that purposely took songs laced with drug references and bunched them together. But drug references were never all the band was about.
Good songwriters know how to relate to people with wit and authentic subjects and language, and that is what Leroy Virgil does, and did. He works with the language and themes of our time, but in no way is it outside of the boundaries or modes country music has always had. Hank Williams sang about “Honky Tonkin’,” Johnny Cash sang about pills and cocaine. Leroy sang about Oxycontin in the previous album because that is what people can relate to today. Now, as Leroy said himself about Damaged Goods when I interviewed him recently:
…it’s not so much about drugs, but the people that do drugs, the people that are in this scummy lifestyle that we live, why they live that way, and what’s going to happen if they continue living that way.
…taking the cautionary tale-approach to sin that has been a central theme to country music since it’s inception.
I would be lying if I called this my favorite Hellbound Glory album, but I’d also be lying if I said the more stylized and subtle approach doesn’t make this album so much more accessible that it opens Leroy Virgil and Hellbound Glory up to the broader recognition they deserve. The fact that Hellbound Glory, as big as they may be in certain circles, is still a relative unknown, is the clearest evidence I can procure that country music has no idea what it’s doing, and has no working system in place to mine and develop talent. At the least BMI and ASCAP should be shuttling suits out to Reno to poach Leroy’s brain for this high Sierra gold that would instantly raise the bar of songwriting in the mainstream country world.
But that’s where the big question about Leroy and Hellbound come in. Is that what they want? As much as I want to blame the music machine for their idiocy of overlooking Leroy, I think a bigger opportunity is there for Leroy if he wanted it, and was willing to work at it. He’s good enough to be noticed. But his unwillingness to compromise, and his concern that if he systematically changes who he is then the wit would stop flowing, has made him reluctant to aggressively pursue “success” in whatever form.
As for me, I’ve done all I can from my little podium here folks. Whatever cred the name Saving Country Music has, it is behind Hellbound Glory 100%. And now that they have an album where there’s no excuses, the undeniable talent of Hellbound Glory and Leroy Virgil is there for anyone with an authentic country heart to see. It is time for someone to step up. They don’t deserve the SCM Album of the Year, they deserve something better, something more than I can give. It is time for them to graduate, for someone a step higher to step up, put these boys as the opener on a serious tour, get them out of having to battle with a juke box full of rap music at brokedown bars, but also someone who understands their element, and how a loss of authenticity would be their demise.
As for me, I’m out of superlatives, except for one more.
Two guns up!
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November 15, 2011 @ 8:37 am
My only complaint right now is I have to wait til the 22nd to download it! I refuse to use itunes.
November 15, 2011 @ 8:45 am
Im really excited about this album. Unfortunatly Ill have to wait a bit longer as the vinyl has been delayed. Not the fault of the band or the label, and I dont mind the extra wait for something as good as this ( at least according to the reviews Ive read)
November 15, 2011 @ 9:11 am
I have the album and I have to say that Triggerman is in no way overhyping it. It is simply a baddass album.
November 15, 2011 @ 9:32 am
For everyone that did the pre-sale, the tracks have been sent to ya for download as we are still waiting on the vinyl to come in. We appreciate the massive amount of pre-orders and we know this album will be played for a long time to come.
November 15, 2011 @ 9:39 am
I know every word to every song and sing as loud as I can with it everytime….. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this album. I’d call it my favorite HBG album. I was introduced to HBG with no drums, and I cant imagin it with drums…. I like what Leroy is doing, and the imagry of him on the bass drum is cool I think… the award is the rewards we fans take from an album like this…. this album will always be in rotation for me….. and is successfully in my life…. Thanks to you Trigger, I am 100% behind them as well… I found out about em here 1st at SCM… thank you! Go buy Damaged Goods y’all…. you will LOVE it.
November 15, 2011 @ 9:58 am
I would just like to point out that I’m gonna be alittle selfish here. I only want to see hellbound glory in those small, smoke filled bars with a tiny stage and shitty beer on tap. I say this because these guys are the most down to earth dudes I’ve ever met on tour. I wanna be able to party with them again and drive them around like me and my buddy did when they played Fort Wayne, Indiana. I wanna be able to sit down with Zeke after the show and have a few shots and bullshit about life on the road. But then again, even if they did hit commercial success I think they’d still be doing the same thing. Partying, drinking, and playing the best damn music out there.
November 15, 2011 @ 2:47 pm
Hellbound Glory could blow up 10X bigger than they are now, and still they would be playing bar-sized venues. There would just be bigger crowds and more money.
November 15, 2011 @ 10:44 am
HBG never ceases to amaze. They played at a lil dive bar in Woodland, CA this past weekend and in addition to kickin back a few PBRs with us, hanging out and solidifying their reputation as AWESOME laid back, down to earth dudes, Leroy hooked it up with a couple copies of Damaged Goods. I’ve already got it memorized, I’m investing in gear and the vinyl, although that ain’t bad for a bastard child, I still feel like it’s not nearly enough to show these guys just how much we appreciate their talent. 😉 Damn good music folks, invest – you won’t regret it.
November 15, 2011 @ 1:15 pm
Just bought it on iTunes. So far, so great. These guys are the best in the business IMO. Leroy is a lyrical madman. Best of luck to them in the future. I rarely buy digital copies of albums, but I will make the exception everytime for these boys.
Best wishes to hoping this album takes off.
November 15, 2011 @ 3:14 pm
Nice review. Can’t wait to hear it, sounds killer, (as to be expected)!
Also – can’t remember if this has be covered in past articles/comments, but this album will be released on CD eventually, right? I’m afraid I might have to wait until then to hear it…
November 15, 2011 @ 5:38 pm
My understanding is that when the vinyl sells out they will print CDs. I have a feeling this vinyl will sell out a bit faster than the “Scumbag Country did!
November 15, 2011 @ 5:45 pm
Great review Triggerman! You said it all and said it well. I too got a copy of this about a month and a half ago when I played a show with the band, and have the whole thing memorized already! It’s just that kind of album, it gets BETTER the more you listen to it. I’ve actually listened to it twice today already! Leroy and the whole band deserve more recognition than they are getting. It might just be my wishful thinking, but I have a feeling this might be the album that knocks them up a level or two. The songs are just kick-ass. “She Left Me in Modesto” was actually one of the songs I didn’t like at first, until I listened to the lyrics closer. It’s not my favorite Hellbound Glory album, but it’s not a disappointment in any way either. Go buy this album!
November 17, 2011 @ 3:58 pm
“She’ll know where to find me, down in some Modesto bar. She may have stole my beat up truck, but I got her credit card.”
Gotta love it!
November 18, 2011 @ 4:41 pm
Exactly!
November 15, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
“Lost Cause” is an incredible song, off of what is a great album so far. Not a weak one on here.
I really hope this album does something for them. It’s pathetic how little attention Leroy and the boys get.
November 16, 2011 @ 9:30 am
Great review Trigger and love the last paragraph. Yes, it is time for someone to step up and grab HBG and give them the platform they deserve.
I’d love to see Leroy shake hands with the likes of Jamey Johnson and Lukas Nelson. If those three got together… that would shake it all up and usher in a new era.
Jamey has the inroads in Nashville
Lukas is scary talented and has that legendary bloodline to grab attention
Leroy has the songwriting skills and a stage presence that would work so well with the other two, and like great superstars, Leroy I think would make the other two even better, because I think Jamey and Lukas need that straw to stir it up. Leroy would be that straw.
Calling out to Jamey and Lukas…. connect with HBG!!!!
November 16, 2011 @ 3:42 pm
Trig, you just made me a rabid fan of Hellbound Glory, Lost Cause is one of the best country songs I’ve heard in a long time. Thanks for introducing me to some more great music, man.
November 16, 2011 @ 5:16 pm
I have been a fan of this website for quite a while, and have followed many of the bands that have been reviewed here, but have never actually posted before. Having listened to this album I feel compelled to make this post…
I’ve never heard anything this good before. It simply amazing. This is simply my favorite album of all time… I know that’s saying a lot, but it’s pretty much been on loop both in my car and home CD player.
I think you need an extra gun to give this album three guns up.
AMAZING!
November 16, 2011 @ 9:41 pm
i downloaded this album last night, and have listening to it ever since. great album
November 16, 2011 @ 11:10 pm
Where can I get a CD format of this album? I’ve been looking everywhere. Should have gotten on the pre-order bandwagon but I didn’t. I’d really not like to go through iTunes…
November 17, 2011 @ 2:59 am
You can’t yet. The album will only be released on vinyl at first. When the vinyl is sold out, a limited run of cd’s will be available, according to Rusty Knuckles themselves.
November 17, 2011 @ 6:28 pm
Sure you can. Buy mp3, burn CD 🙂
November 17, 2011 @ 11:14 am
I agree w/the “love the album” sentiment, altho i am not a big fan of music w/o some sort of drumming and this is, in my preference ranking, 3rd on a list of 3. Nevertheless a good album, but the live performance i saw a week ago in Spartanburg SC wasn’t anywhere near what I’ve seen before. For me, the “boot on the bass drum” wasn’t working AT ALL, just made the songs seem kinda like an open mike amateur night, and like the band was skimping on their sound. Even tho you might not want your songs to have the Chico/Moon/Bonham thunder of before, you GOTTA have someone back there in a band like this; if nothing else it sends a weird impression to someone not familiar w/all the backstory like most of us are here, to come in and see a guy sitting on a drum booting it….
November 17, 2011 @ 1:11 pm
I too prefer the older albums, and I too prefer the full-band with drums sound. But to say the current line-up isn’t working is a bit dramatic. There are plenty of artists in this scene who play the bass drum while they pick and sing (McDougall, Joseph Huber), there’s nothing amateurish about it. I had the opposite reaction that you did I guess, I was surprised how well the current line-up works. And it’s worth noting that it’s probably temporary as well, since Leroy himself has indicated that he would like to play with a drummer again.
November 17, 2011 @ 7:26 pm
Triggerman thank you so much for opening my eyes to real country music, i’m so glad I found your site !!! Keep up the amazing work. This album is fucking amazing, I wish these guys would come to NY.
November 19, 2011 @ 10:23 am
The CD appears to be available now. I just ordered it from the Rusty Knuckles website. Can’t wait!
November 22, 2011 @ 2:56 am
i’m still disappointed, that they canceled their european tour last week, without naming a reason or even contacting anyone. they just took the dates off their website. i already made flyers and posters for that show…
November 23, 2011 @ 9:11 pm
Yea, no clue either why they canceled their European tour… makes me sad because they need to get heard over there.
Anybody else catch that Merle cover in there? Nice choice Leroy!
Well regardless of what the tour schedule looks like it’s always a privilege to share the stage with these guys or bump into em walking down the street just the same.
Easy enough for me to say though as I’m not the one who printed up all those posters!!
November 24, 2011 @ 6:28 am
hey daniel! nice to see you here. i just would like to know what happened. the booker was pretty pissed and said that he’ll never work with ’em again…
November 24, 2011 @ 10:19 am
Been playing HB tunes on Skydog’s Red Dirt Radio for a while, always rated high by our listeners….can’t wait for the new CD!
January 13, 2012 @ 10:24 am
rusty knuckles is the worst web based company iv’e ever delt with,never reply to e-mails,i’ll never buy anything from them again,,,total rip off
January 13, 2012 @ 10:39 am
That was not my experience. While anxiously awaiting the availability of the CD, I sent a couple of e-mails to check on when they thought they would have it. I would get a personal reply within minutes. Once the CD became available, I received it within a couple of days.
January 10, 2023 @ 12:12 pm
Twelve years later, this review is still spot-on.