Album Review – Sturgill Simpson’s ‘The Ballad of Dood & Juanita’

No matter what happens subsequently, Sturgill Simpson has left such an indelible mark on the legacy of country music, and music at large with his five album contribution over the last eight years (along with two bluegrass side projects), you can’t help but feel the need to tip you hat, to slow clap, to show some sort of appreciation and gratitude as he delivers what he’s proclaimed is his final album as a solo artist.
An innovator, at times a traditionalist, and at others an iconoclast, Stugill Simpson has stirred emotions, broke down barriers, and inspired peers and understudies. He’s also become quite polarizing, to where no matter what he releases, strong opinions rise to the surface even before a peep of music is heard. Don’t worry if you’re a Sturgill Simpson fan though. As we always had a sense as he talked about his “five album plan,” it isn’t bulletproof. Sturgill has made inferences that he’ll start a band next. So it’s unlikely we’ve heard the last from him.
As we have come to expect from Sturgill Simpson, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita is a conceptualized song cycle as opposed to just a collection of random tracks, with the hope that these expressions lend to something greater than the sum of their individual parts, and result in a more immersive experience for the listener. Though the album is titled after Simpson’s grandparents, it’s not really about them at all. It’s set in Appalachia 100 years before their birth, and unfolds as a story of love and revenge involving fictional characters—basically a Western, but with the wrinkle of being set in the eastern United States instead.
Dood is a half breed whose father was a mountain man and mother was Shawnee. Juanita is the apple of Dood’s eye. Two other characters that appear are Dood’s trusty steed Shamrock, and loyal dog Sam. Sham and Sam, as they’re affectionately referred to.
Though Sturgill says he wrote the album in a matter of days, he did do his due diligence to make sure no anachronistic inconsistencies sneaked in, referring to rife brands relevant to the time, and conferring other specific details that bring the setting and characters to life. Sturgill’s acting efforts in the upcoming Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon portraying infamous rodeo champion and bootlegger Henry Grammer apparently helped Simpson sync himself with the Dood character, and he envisioned the plot for the story while driving from Nashville to Oklahoma where the movie was shot.
To help bring the story to life, Sturgill enlisted the same Hillbilly Avengers crew that recorded his last bluegrass record Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2 – The Cowboy Arms Sessions—meaning Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, and the rest, and recorded it in the same space—the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, made infamous by “Cowboy” Jack Clement himself. Willie Nelson also appears on guitar via a track beamed across the continent to the Cowboy Arms studio. According to Sturgill, he started writing the album on a Sunday, and it was recorded and finished completely by the end of that same week.
Taking a primitive approach to the music, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita isn’t exactly bluegrass, but the kind of primitive early country and Appalachian folk that would go on to influence country and bluegrass in future generations. Sturgill Simpson’s voice takes on a decidedly deeper timbre in this work, even before he adopts and even more deep affectation when he sings about Dood’s trusty steed on the song “Shamrock.”
Crackling campfire sounds, gunshots, galloping horses, frogs and cricket sounds, and percussive elements are brought to the recording to give it more of a cinematic feel. Similar to other concept records, many of the album’s tracks are best utilized for moving the narrative along within the album cycle as opposed to standalone singles. But when an a capella moment is found paying tribute to Dood’s hound dog “Sam,” it makes for a great autonomous moment too, even if it only lasts for just over a minute.
And though it would be easy to show undue favoritism to the track where the warm and familiar tones of Willie Nelson’s guitar Trigger appear, the song “Juanita” really is the moment where music, story, and Sturgill’s emotive vocals that feature an impressive range make for arguably the best individual takeaway from this particular song cycle.

The Ballad of Dood and Juanita is a fine little record, and makes a quality edition to the Sturgill Simpson discography. Regarding the tracks and the vision Sturgill brought to the project, it’s hard to second guess any of the decisions, or the results. Yet for a record that just a few months ago Sturgill told us he wanted to take his “sweet-ass time on … because I’m pretty sure I’m about to make my opus and then bow out and vaporize like Houdini,” The Ballad of Dood and Juanita feels just a little rushed, and ultimately, lacking.
Despite the album containing 10 tracks, it clocks in near 28 minutes total, which has resulted in some criticism, including from core Sturgill Simpson fans. But as your wife or girlfriend will tell you, it’s not just the length, but what you do with it. With a prologue and an epilogue, not a lot of variety or imagination in the instrumentation, or tracks that work outside the song cycle—and frankly, a plot that could have benefited from significantly more fleshing out (most of the tracks are simply songs about the individual characters)—The Ballad of Dood and Juanita just feels a little light on material.
We all tend to overvalue concept records. Music critics do this especially. But when Willie Nelson delivered Red Headed Stranger, or even Phases and Stages before it, or The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released Will The Circle Be Unbroken, or Hank Williams III’s Straight to Hell, or Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, they were doing something nobody had really done in country music before.
But The Ballad of Dood and Juanita has been done before, and quite frequently. If we’re being honest, the entire record is like a trope, down to the vintage story, and even the sound effects. For years folks have been trying to emulate what Willie did with Red Headed Stranger, with varying degrees of success. It’s a trope because when done well, it works. But at this point, doing your version of Red Headed Stranger is a paint-by-the-numbers enterprise.
The Ballad of Dood and Juanita feels like an album Sturgill Simpson recorded to get his promised fifth and final record off the docket and move on to something he’s more passionate about. The Cuttin’ Grass volumes feel more passionate than this project does, even if they included mostly previously-released material. If fact, this album feels more like a continuation of those albums as opposed to a wholly original effort. Did they even strike the mic stands at the Cowboy Arms studio between recording Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2 and this? Or did they just leave them up to save time? This is the record that feels like the side project that shouldn’t count toward the five album plan. And if it was a side project, you’d be elated to receive it. As the culmination of Sturgill Simpson’s music career, it feels a bit deflating.
When we saw the title of this record, it just seemed like something Sturgill Simpson would put all of his soul into, and result in perhaps his most personal work to date, taking the personal history he’s sown into his music through his love of his papaw Dood who he wrote the song “Hero” for, and who appears at the beginning of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music introducing the album, and bring Sturgill Simpson back to High Top Mountain cemetery in Kentucky where his ancestors are buried, and what inspired the name of his first record, completing his career like a perfect circle.
But most anyone could have written and recorded The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, and basically, some already have, only better. Mamma Coal (a.k.a. Carra Stasney) did a great 15-song cycle in 2016 called The Raven Haired Vixen. Slackeye Slim won the Saving Country Music Album of the Year in 2011 for El Santo Grial… These took the Red Headed Stranger concept, and made them their own. And yes, there is a greater level of expectation placed on the shoulders of Sturgill Simpson because of who he is, and what he’s accomplished. He’s earned it.
Again, it’s not that The Ballad of Dood and Juanita is in any way a bad record. For what it is, it’s actually really cool. This is one of those reviews rife to be misunderstood because you have a lot of qualifying points to make about an otherwise quality record. The concern is more about what it could have been than what it is. From the perspective of this objective and informed music critic, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita was probably the 3rd or 4th best record to be released on the busy August 20th release date alone, even though it got the lion’s share of the attention, because it was Sturgill.
Years from now, when listeners sift through the discography of Sturgill Simpson hoping to discover gold just like we all do with the records of the older country greats who passed on before us, they will find The Ballad of Dood and Juanita and regard it as a fine edition to the Sturgill Simpson legacy. But it won’t be considered his Red Headed Stranger. That distinction can only go to an album that is also groundbreaking, original, and strikingly influential. And for Sturgill Simpson, that remains Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.
1 3/4 Guns Up (7.5/10)
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August 23, 2021 @ 8:29 am
Don’t forget about the best concept album since Red Headed Stranger, Ben Nichol’s Last Pale Light in the West. He didn’t come up with the source material, but he melded into a near perfect album.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:13 am
Damn that Ben Nichols record is good. So good. Better than any Lucero record, and that is saying a lot.
August 24, 2021 @ 3:08 pm
I don’t know if I’d say it’s BETTER than every Lucero album, but it’s certainly equal in quality to their best, and far exceeds their worst.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:33 am
I feel as if this should have been the album he made into a movie instead of Sound and Fury.
Davy Crockett: King of the Wind Frontier II
Writer and Producer: Sturgill Simpson
Davy Crockett Actor: Charley Crockett
Could have been perfect.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:37 am
Meh. Not good enough to overcome what a jerk Sturgill is.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:54 am
show us on the doll where sturg hurt your feelings.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:42 pm
Probably the part that you straddle.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:54 pm
Kill shot
August 25, 2021 @ 2:38 pm
this is such a confusing attempt at an insult. sturg hurt FSF’s feelings on my dick? i’m straddling FSF? what are you trying to say, mikey?
August 23, 2021 @ 8:40 am
What I like: It’s not the last 2, the production is mostly good, lots of concept enhancing layers and accents, the instrumentation, and the playing (especially the fiddle).
What I don’t like: The songs. The melodies and chord structures are mediocre at best. I knew where each song was going the first time I listened. And the lyrics are kinda half baked and trite. It definitely feels like it was written in 2 days. After listening a few times, I don’t think I will again. 6.0
As a side note, it’s interesting to see how critics with, let’s call them “modern sensitivities,” are handling the violence and gun romanticizing, damsel in distress story.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:36 am
I’m genuinely curious as to which critical responses you’ve seen that have problems “handling” the content of the album. I’ve seen nothing other than the typical fawning reviews that would primarily greet any new Sturgill release.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:40 am
You might notice I didn’t say they had problems.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:48 am
Trigger,
I felt like you were teasing us making us wait for this, but this is exactly the kind of thoughtful review I value from you. I wanted to like this record, and it’s fine as far as it goes, but it definitely didn’t leave me wanting to keep it “spinning” as much as some of the other 8/20 releases. I think you’ve captured why well. It’s fine, but from Sturgill we really wanted something more than that. Obviously, he’s talked himself into corners, but basically none of that really matters. Hopefully, he will really form that new band, leave the songwriting ground fallow for a bit, and then come back renewed and refreshed in a couple of years with a worthy addition to his catalog.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:51 am
“Kick so hard it sent them up and out the stratosphere”
Kinda clunky.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:54 am
Super rich vocals and great sound quality. I just wish it was longer.
Maybe there are some others, but I can’t think of a musician where through the course of their discography you know just about their entire family tree…..Parents, Grandparents, Great grandparents, Great great grandparents, uncles, wife, kids, dogs, horses…..places, family history and more….. that’s pretty damn cool. Uncle Everett still sounds like the coolest.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:59 am
Sturgill’s vocals always seem to be a big discussion point for folks. “I can’t understand what he’s saying.” “He’s trying to sound like Waylon.” But I really feel like he found the right range in his voice, and the right production setup on this particular record, and it really helps to enhance the experience. Sturgill’s voice is probably one of the album’s best assets.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:33 am
Check out Tom Russell, his masterpiece The Man From God Knows Where traces his family emigrating to the US then follows them to California in a true modern epic. He also talks about his family on other songs and albums and in my opinion is probably the best historical fiction songwriter working. Still putting out great stuff too!
August 23, 2021 @ 3:02 pm
Among other reasons, the 2 Cuttin Grass albums are outstanding because Sturgill’s voice and inflection seem perfect for bluegrass. To me, they sound much better than the originals.
I’ll check this out.
August 23, 2021 @ 8:57 am
it’s not my favorite sturgill effort, but it is quite good. love the a capella. sounds great. some great songs. very cohesive tho. i hope someday he finds his way back to ‘sailors’ territory, but you never know what we’re going to get, which is exciting.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:11 am
Feels like a good EP.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:04 am
Well put
August 23, 2021 @ 9:16 am
I loved the album. I get it’s been there done that in the grand music scheme, but it was new for Sturgill and I think something he was clearly very passionate and interested in. I don’t agree with the part in this review that it felt rushed or lacking in interest from Sturgill himself. It was simple, the story extremely so, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad disappointed that there wasn’t more songs if this truly is the last Sturgill record (although I’m doubtful about that), but still I loved the simply tried and true story. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but Sturgill has always been a special songwriter, vocal talent, and creator and I still think all those things shine through here.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:23 am
I really wanted to love this album. A western-like concept record from Sturgill sounded great, and while I did not care much for “Sound & Fury,” I really felt like I’d love this. After about 2 listens all the way through, I just don’t love it. Fine enough story, but an extremely short album. But that’s not my main issue. Nearly none of these tracks do a good job of standing on their own, and I found very few to be repeatable. They all need to be listened to in the context of the album, and I just didn’t love the album enough to want to continue listening through. A longer album with a few tracks that could’ve stood alone would have made a better project. But above all, I just didn’t love the songs. Nothing on the album blew me away. Every album he’s done, even “Sound & Fury,” had a track or two at the least that I really loved. Not this one. Just left with a feeling of being very underwhelmed. And maybe that’s partly because my expectations were too high. But I am really disappointed in this album.
That being said, this album had really good vocals, maybe his best since “High Top Mountain,” and I did enjoy the sound of the album.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:42 am
Yep trigger, you said it. I am “core Sturgill fan” and I agree with every word. Great little record, but to say that this is it without having anything else up his sleeve breaks my heart. We will see what happens next.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:55 am
I think it’s the best record of his career (of course, there’s no accounting for taste).
This is the straight dope, from Simpson. No clever monkeying about in the studio. No spreading the sound think like peanut-butter. Not attempts at lyrical gymnastics. Just a dude cooking with a band he clearly loves playing with and singing plainly about something he cares about. Don’t get me wrong, I love Simpson, and the magic tricks above are a big part of the why I do but sometimes it’s nice to hear an artist working in simplicity. Stripping everything back can really revel an artist and that’s what I think this record is.
A great chef can blow your mind with gastronomic wizardry, complex physics and incredible invention. But a really great chef can blow your mind just by cooking an egg. Well, for me at least, Sturgill has just given us his egg.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:57 am
I was obsessed with anything Sturgill until ‘A Sailors Guide…’ which for me was him flexing his musical muscle and little more. Shortly after I was offended by his political bellowing. He went way over the top as many people have and after a couple of years I found myself listening to ‘High Top…’ because my bride slipped in the C.D. player. I realized I cannot deny his songwriting brilliance nor his ability to sing. He is also a helluva guitar player (adios Lil Joe).
On hearing the two offerings above I ‘THINK’ he’s putting his Soul back into his music and he does that as good as anyone I ever heard. I’ll purchase this offering.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:43 am
you don’t think the album written for his son had his soul in it?
August 23, 2021 @ 6:35 pm
I don’t? Given that your agenda is what it is, go tell other people what they should like.
August 23, 2021 @ 6:41 pm
“I was obsessed with anything Sturgill until ‘A Sailors Guide…’ which for me was him flexing his musical muscle and a little more. … On hearing the two offerings above I ‘THINK’ he’s putting his Soul back into his music and he does that as good as anyone I ever heard.”
seems to be what you said.
anyways, what’s my agenda? saying styx sucks? i’ll stand by that.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:01 am
It’s an entertaining story. A couple of details may be drawn a bit too finely.. Meylin (credited as an inventor of the Pennsylvania rifle) died in 1749, so an actual Meylin in regular use a century later would be quite remarkable. And I won’t say it’d be impossible to patch an iron ball, but lead was ubiquitous and superior in every way. And a lot more likely to connect on that 300 yard shot. But hey, I remember a lot of cop shows with 10 shot revolvers, and detectives making 50 yard shots with snubbies.
It is an enjoyable listen, but like someone else stated, the songs really need the support of their neighbors to stand up. It’s definitely one to listen to from start to finish, which isn’t hard to do at 27 minutes.
November 29, 2021 @ 10:39 am
That is actually a problem I gave my physics class…
Could Dood hit the Bandit 300 yards (274m) away (assuming his rifle shoots at 488m/s and Dood’s rifle is across a fallen tree 1.5 meters high)?
Turns out, Dood would be about 4 meters short (if Seamus was exactly 274m away). But remember, Seamus was sitting below Dood on a horse, and Dood figured he was about 300 yards away…so it was entirely possible, +/- 4 meters. (And there is no assumption of change in elevation for my calculations, because they are not mentioned in the song. Assume that because of the drop of elevation and Seamus sitting on a horse they are about level.)
The time required to “blow the balls of a bat, reload and shoot ’em one more time” is another interesting physics problem.
Time to reach the ground = Square Root of (Elevation above ground/4.9)
Assume the average tree height (where bats would be flying) is about 25-30 meters (80-100ft) high, would mean that you have between 2.5-2.25s for the bat to hit the ground from the first shot. Can he really reload the rifle from Kentucky in that amount of time?
That’s why he is the one they called Dood, son of a mountain miner and a Shawnee maid.
Personally I love this album. It tells a complete story, and its a great listen from start to finish. Sometimes I think artists make an album for themselves as much as for their audience with no regard for what the critics or the audience thinks.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:03 am
I’d just add: If you’re a fan of this record (which I really, REALLY am), check out Tony Trischka’s latest, “We Shall Hope” a Civil War concept album that, I think it’s safe to say, Simpson may have listened to.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:09 am
Probably an unpopular opinion, but to me this album seems another attempt to copy the guy he helped make a star in Tyler Childers. It’s almost like he’s saying, look I can be bluegrassy too. Unfortunately, Sturgel is no Childers, just as Childers is not Sturgel. I would have much preferred a return to the 70s outlaw with modern sounds type of country music Sturgel is actually very good at. This album has a few good songs, but overall it’s a miss for me.
As much as Sturgel downplays Dave Cobb for his success, he hasn’t produced anything close to the same quality without him. Maybe he should re-think that strategy.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:48 pm
I think if anyone it’s Billy Strings moving all of them to a bluegrass vibe that’s been catching fire on the road. If you dig deep I’m not sure Tyler really beat Sturgill to that sound as much as Sturgill wanted to throw a “fuck you” up to his roots and then realized how stupid it was.
I’ve said it for years but he never took his own advice in ‘Just Let Go’
August 23, 2021 @ 10:10 am
I had a lot of thoughts on this one initially, but you covered ’em all, Trigger. Fully agreed. It’s an engaging listen the first bunch of times, but loses its luster quickly. I listened to it about a dozen times Friday through Saturday then put it down. Today I remember the story, but can’t remember a single melody – except “Sam”, which is a lovely “my dog’s dead” song (miles better than Stapleton’s recent “Maggie’s Song”).
Just not sure I’m going to come back to this one too often in the future. High Top Mountain, Metamodern, the Cuttin’ Grass volumes, and maybe Sailor’s Guide are the ones I’ll come back to over and over.
I’ll look forward to whatever Sturgill does with his new band (whenever that happens) but, let’s be honest, for all of Sturgill’s “it’s not about me, I’m gonna disappear” schtick (per last week’s Rolling Stone article) anything he does in the future will be considered Sturgill n’ Friends. No way around it. Thankfully, it seems we haven’t heard the last of him musically.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:10 am
He is a generational talent no doubt it. Sure he is a jerk, if it bothers anyone just turn him off when the songs end.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:19 am
Ahhh(sigh of relief), number 5 at last. The recording career of the most overrated performer of the 21st century is finally over.
Shall we celebrate?
August 23, 2021 @ 10:21 am
It’s ok. It’s short. I love the musicianship but I just don’t think the songs are anything special or that. It all seems a little derivative to me. It is certainly not ground breaking. Worth a listen but I have heard much better than this. The review is a fair one.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:29 am
The photograph of Mr. Simpson accompanying this article, the album art, and the tracks selected for sampling are a perfect indictment of this entire genre. Pretentious, boring nonsense. I’m not even sure what this Americana/folk/country-western crap is even pretending to be anymore. Is owning a parlor acoustic guitar and struggling to wear a Stetson enough? It’s not a genre for musicians or other fans of technical proficiency. It’s certainly not for fans of vocal range and/or depth. Let me guess, it’s a genre for songwriters and lovers of lyrics? Nope, try again. Lyrically, it’s dry melodrama that tries way too hard to be something that it’s not (genuine). Do the fans of this stuff really still sit around their local microbrewery with their ironic facial hair and talk about this trash music and expect us all to be impressed? Still? Who could possibly be entertained by this? Is being entertained even a consideration or do we just want to find the newest, most obscure indie folk duet that mixes in the occasional banjo and call it “special” so we seem smart? If this is your pick of listening material, just admit that you really don’t like music or know anything about music and quit buying this stuff so these people will go away. On a lighter note, I do have one positive thing to say about Mr. Simpson and this album: at least it’s not Jason Isbell. I know, I know, I know. “He’s done so much to save county….he’s a really great song writer and I just don’t understand…the depth of his…blah, blah, blah.” No, actually, I don’t know any of that…because none of it is true. But, if you’re defending this garbage as listenable and/or (please, God, no) important, I do know that: 1) you are excited to break out your new plaid shirt (it may be flannel) for the next run-of-the-mill music festival; and 2) there’s a hint of grapefruit in your IPA. We get it, you’re cool…you just don’t know anything about music.
August 23, 2021 @ 10:46 am
Hi Chris,
I just wanted to let you know, with all the sincerity that I can muster, that you are a man after my own heart. Thank you for your comment.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:04 pm
He saved you some typing!
August 23, 2021 @ 12:14 pm
Indeed.
I wish someone with the Lil Dale organization were here to proceed with this induction.
August 24, 2021 @ 4:34 am
I’m sorry King Honk, I’m about ready to hang it up again. Comrade Trigg literally removed an entire paragraph of one of my last comments. I can’t put up with the censorship anymore.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:00 am
If SCM had a comment HOF this would be the first induction. Bravo Chris….Bravo!
August 23, 2021 @ 11:21 am
lololololol complains about reeking of pretentiousness and then spouts the most pretentious comment quite possibly ever made on this site.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:43 am
First off, a disclosure – I do not own a parlor acoustic guitar, a flannel shirt or a Stetson and am only an occasional listener of Simpson and Isbell (neither one so much lately). Having said that, Chris, I must confess I am extremely curious as to three artists or albums that you might find impressive or entertaining.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:51 am
Would you like for me to keep my answers restricted to just county music or do you mean throughout all genres?
August 23, 2021 @ 11:53 am
You pick.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:34 pm
Three is a difficult number. Prince for pop/soul, Dwight Yoakam for country, and Styx for pop/prog rock (odd choice – I know – but they are a great vocal band, especially live). I’m also a big fan of the blues. So, I could do a deep dive into the blues and also progressive rock…but I’ll save you that for fear of being pretentious (I see you, JoseyWales, if that is your real name).
August 23, 2021 @ 1:48 pm
styx sucks. lol.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:03 pm
Styx? What, were Journey and Rush the alternates. Anyone who makes a diatribe that long and then pimps Styx has no cred. Styx was terrible late 70’s prog synth rock in the 70’s, and hasn’t gotten better with age. Basically the Nickelback of the platform shoe era…
August 23, 2021 @ 12:44 pm
Fair enough. Thanks for answering, Chris.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:35 pm
Yea but Dwight wears Resistol and Stetson cowboy hats
Ew, people
August 23, 2021 @ 11:50 am
“…I do have one positive thing to say about Mr. Simpson and this album: at least it’s not Jason Isbell.” Lol.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:43 pm
Chris,
I appreciate the candor and perspective of your comment. I would, however, disagree with characterizing this album and its accompanying marketing as “a perfect indictment of this entire genre.” That’s quite a broad brush, and patently unfair to many artists who would not participated in “horseshit,” so to speak. Don’t indict everyone for the actions of Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell.
That said, the only official Sturgill-sanctioned piece of media to accompany this release was an embarrassingly obsequious puff piece in Rolling Stone that strangely many are touting as prophetic, which pushed this very type of canonizing narrative complete with pictures of Sturgill on horseback in a poorly-fitting Stetson, smoking a cigarette of all things, that is completely counter to who we all know Sturgill is. Sure, some of this is piggy backing off the role he’s playing in the Martin Scorsese film. But it just had the exact type of fealty to fallible that makes these guys believe they’re gods among men. It does a great disservice to the artist, and the public. Not to say there weren’t a few nuggets of interesting information to come out of the feature, but it was the same type of fawning, slice-of-life feature where Jason Isbell falsely claimed he wrote the first ever gay country song in 2019, and went completely unchallenged (by the same writer, btw). You have writers with low self-esteem who are willing to lie and fawn to gain acceptance by the performer class, and performers that allow it to happen to stroke their ego.
Yes, it reflects poorly on “this genre.” That’s why it doesn’t not deserve to be supported. But please don’t take that out on artists who do try to shoot the public straight.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:10 pm
I avoid RS like the plague, but for fun I did read the puff piece, and it was as unintentionally amusing as I expected. The fawning was palpable.
I also thought their review was kind of interesting and give David Browne props for saying “Melodically, the songs are slight, as if Simpson spent more time on the story and imagery than the melodies…” But I was curious about the last line: “The album isn’t just an elegy for the concept album but for the very culture it chronicles.” In reference to my comment above, I wondered if this was intended to at least somewhat address the “not fit for modern times” story. A subtle way to distance himself from the subject matter? Maybe I’m reading too much into that.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
I will say, I found it very curious when a guy that claimed to be a “country rapper” named RMR showed up straight up pointing AR-style weapons and 9mm’s at the camera in videos, and the pearl clutchers in pop journalism that usually hound the country audience for its conservative values didn’t say a peep about it, and even praised the dude. (He’s the guy that collaborated on a Billy Strings song a while back, BTW). They did the same with the “Kidd G” emo rap star, who has a video with him just totally dick flexing shooting off guns for no apparent reason. You don’t see actual country guys out there flashing guns in their videos like that. Many in the media love to look the other way at these culture war offenses like the glorification of irresponsible gun ownership when they think the artist serves their deeper purpose of completely undermining the country genre.
But as for this Sturgill album and the gun play etc., I think it probably falls under a “Wild West” exemption. And of course, the media likes Sturgill’s politics, so why get in his way? But if someone is trying to raise a stink, that’s lame either way.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:13 pm
Good points, and painfully obvious to….some of us.
I took it less as trying to raise a stink as, either finding a safe angle to distance himself, or a way to get in a subtle look down his nose. Especially reading the lines up to it. Anyway, not sure why I care really.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:12 pm
Trigger:
I really appreciate your insight. I really do. Yes, it is often the Sturgill Simpson’s and Jason Isbell’s that cast a negative light on this genre of music. But, in my opinion, it started long before them. While maybe not a direct ancestor to this brand of music, Bob Dylan made many wild and untrue boasts about his past over the years. So, your comment about writers with low self-esteem who are willing to lie to gain acceptance by the performer class is pretty close to the mark. Still, generally speaking, I find much of it (if not all of it) disingenuous and boring. I’m from the coalfields and we have much better bluegrass pickers at our family reunions than many of these “stars.” It leads me to believe that much of the fanbase has aligned themselves with this genre to simply seem like the hippest, most interesting person in the room. At least, all of the Americana/folk fans I know fall into this category.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:30 pm
So true, Chris. You can go to the downtown square in Mountain View, AR and find more talent as well.
I couldn’t agree with you more about folks thinking they’re cool and such. I’ve maintained for years that C(c)ountry Music is the new alternative for city people who weren’t raised on it. They’re drawn to it because it’s like nothing they’ve ever heard before, in the most literal way possible. What are your thoughts on this?
August 23, 2021 @ 2:21 pm
Yes, I think you’re right. It’s the same market as for the “Have a Willie Nice Day” and “What Would Dolly Do?” type t-shirts. It’s what Cracker Barrel is to your grandma’s cooking. It’s all the trappings of being “folksy” for people that can’t recognize the real thing.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:45 pm
Might be the first critique of the talent involved here. It’s not that Mountain View, AR or any other coalmining hamlet in the hills has better pickers, its just that you have the best moonshine which can certainly the smooth out the rough edges and make the inebriated eye overestimate how talented your uncle’s buddies really might be. And to be fair, there are TONS of great pickers there, and everywhere, that no one knows about. But…
Tim O’Brien (Hot RIze, Red Knuckles, Earls of Leicester)
Mike Bub (Del McCoury, IBMA bass player of the year multiple times)
Sierra Hull (IMBAs, Grammys, multi-instrumentalists)
Etc….. These folks are really not “hip” and
I don’t care what hill you wander up, you won’t find many, if any, better pickers than on display right here (even if you don’t like their performances) and certainly not in the droves implied, just pickin’ on Ol’ Joe Clark between shifts at the mine.
August 23, 2021 @ 6:03 pm
That has to be one of the more absurd observations you have ever made, Honky. GRunner84 is spot on.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:26 pm
You probably should have stopped with the first 10,000 word paragraph because this keeps getting worse.
It’s fine to dislike hipsters, but what you’re writing is total nonsense.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:18 pm
Chris… who hurt you?
August 23, 2021 @ 2:08 pm
Most ignorant, “look at me!” comment ever posted.
I’m a 45 year old man who has worn plaid and flannel all his life because it was just the style of dependable workwear. I’ve always owned two pairs of the same boots – one for work, one for good (so when the work pair get worn out, a pair is broken-in). When I drink beer, it’s Budweiser, but 99% of the time I drink Jim Beam (with a splash of water on Sundays). I only have facial hair when I sleep in past my usual 5:30 am wake up time. I’ve never been to a microbrewery and Sierra Nevada is the only IPA I’ve ever tried.
I love The Ballad of Dood and Juanita because it’s real instruments (not mixed on on MAC), played by real musicians. It tells a story which is unusual as we revert back to a singles driven industry. Dood and Juanita will resonate with my kind of people in Appalachia because it’s Mountain Music style. After Sound & Fury, I’m thrill the direction of Dood and Juanita.
As for Isbell, for a liberal he’s written some of the best blue-collard anthems of this generation:
“God is a Working Man”
“Something More than Free”
“Last of My Kind”
“Cumberland Gap”
“Outfit”
“TVA”
…
I don’t see anyone from the right writing songs for the working man up to these standards (without the overused, patronizing tropes).
Lastly, I don’t like you.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:17 pm
and one of his favorite bands is styx. YUCK.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:18 pm
Hop,
An exception to the rule doesn’t negate the rule. Chris is mocking the people who are copying you. You should dry your tears and thank him.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:11 pm
You don’t like me. Got it. But, for the sake of logical consistency, maybe don’t accuse me of posting a “look at me” comment followed by a paragraph solely about YOU and how you are the “real deal.” I’m glad you have a job and shave and wear flannel and own boots and drink bad whiskey. You are everything these frauds are pretending to be. But, that’s about you. So…look at you.
Now, as to the music, I’m not sure what the right or the left has to do with anything. I’m also not sure what qualifies a song as a blue collar anthem. Do blue collar workers have to like poorly written songs that complain about strip mining or the company that exploited them or some other generic theme that casts the “working man” as the virtuous victim of society? Is it really that easy? I am and have always been in the heart of Appalachia. My dad and his 5 brothers were all coal miners. Im not going to bother reciting what my footwear is and what time I set my alarm for. But, I was raised on nothing but mountain music. None of this garbage resonates with me.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:18 pm
Jim Beam isn’t bad whiskey. It’s the standard-bearer for bourbon, the most popular bourbon in the world. I think deeming something bad just because it is ubiquitous is a very hipster thing to do, Chris.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:21 pm
Well said, sir.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:45 pm
1. The Sturgill/Jason hate on this page is really something to see. I understand why those with a hard right slant wouldn’t care for Jasons political rants, he’s been that way since his days in DBT(Who, by the way, are criminally overlooked on this website, I imagine because of this very subject), but I really don’t understand the Sturgill hate, at least politically. He’s not all that outspoken about political issues by today’s standards, hell Tyler made a bigger splash with his support of BLM. Sturgill has made some comments, but nothing compared to some of his peers. If it’s about authenticity then your argument is just boring and you need to find better things to do with your time, or come up with a real argument. You and the other authenticity bro’s on this page can’t possibly know how boring your lame ass opinions on an artists integrity are to us. 2. You lost all credibility when you put Styx in your 3 recommended artists of any genre. I mean… damn. And you want to talk about authenticity? I believe I just wouldn’t chime in if it’s all I had to offer was Styx. Of all the rock bands you could have chosen, Styx? Weak shit man.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:34 pm
“Weak shit man.” I’m clearly outmatched here, yet I’ll soldier on. I never said Styx was “genuine.” In fact, I’m not sure Tommy Shaw himself would say Styx was genuine. Styx wrote and continues to write music to sell albums. But, their harmonies and their arrangements are spot on. If Renegade and Blue Collar Man and Too Much Time on My Hands sucks to you but Sturgill Simpson is good stuff, I’m the winner here, you just don’t know it and never will. Further, I never mentioned politics and I’m not sure why everyone else seems to make that an issue. Is that an issue for you? And I’m not sure who the “authenticity bros” are. I’m not one. I don’t have bros. I get paid to argue important topics with intelligent people. On occasion, it’s fun to argue unimportant things with less intelligent people. Thank you for obliging me.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:51 pm
Whatever they’re payin, it’s too much.
August 23, 2021 @ 5:17 pm
“lady” is one one of the all time worst songs. it’s absolute garbage.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:51 pm
What do you do for a living, Chris? Who do you debate, and why?
August 23, 2021 @ 6:09 pm
Boom! Best comment on here, JBird. Chris went from somewhat having a few decent points further up, to complete and utter D-baggery with the “I get paid to…” BS. Unbelievable.
August 23, 2021 @ 6:55 pm
I agree. Let’s not talk about reality. Let’s protect your feelings instead. You’re right, this is great music and you’re all very special and hip and cool by appreciating it. Only the honest, hardworking blue collar regular Joe gets this stuff. No…what is it…”d-baggery” here. Nope, just cool guys discussing cool music. Anyway, if you’d like to discuss reality, I do get paid to do that. Should I pretend that I swing a hammer for a living like your pretend music stars for more steet cred? I was trying to discuss music, but only a few people want to do that. Most of you want engage in insults. If you insult me, I’ll insult you back; I just happen to be better at it. Please return to believing this shit music is somehow meaningful.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:17 pm
Buddy, I don’t give a shit what music you like (Styx is fine but Dire Straits is better), how smart the people you argue with offline might be, or how often you sniff your own farts, but could you please point me in the direction of an insult you are particularly proud of here? Your wit may warrant a few chortles from your in-person chums, but this is the internet and I get more entertaining smack talk on a daily basis from my four-year-old than anything I’ve noticed from you on this thread.
As a fellow SELF-PROCLAIMED VERY SMART RANDOM ONLINE PERSON (S-PVSROP), I hope you primarily deal with the spoken word in capacities such that it’s not important to break down your thoughts into coherent bits of text those IPA-drinking nerds in the literary world would call paragraphs. Because you really suck at those.
August 23, 2021 @ 5:48 pm
So there are no modern/current bands you like?
August 23, 2021 @ 7:12 pm
No bands that I get super excited about. But, I do like Kings of Leon. I like The Decemberists (although also guilty of pretentious lyrics….but I choose to forgive them). I’m opinionated and love music and my standards are a moving target. More than anything, I like to wind people up that take themselves too seriously. Please see above.
August 23, 2021 @ 7:38 pm
He likes Styx too
August 23, 2021 @ 7:48 pm
Nope, I LOVE Styx. Cheesy sometimes? Yep. Fun? Always. Tommy Shaw still has a full head of hair at 67/68 years old. I mean, that’s pretty cool. Crystal Ball live. I could go on, but you all take this stuff to heart. I didn’t mean to break up your cool kid party, bro.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:50 am
I am literally the microbrew sipping flannel-clad city-reared hipster poseur you so loathingly described in your original comment, but jesus christ The Decemberists are far too pretentious even for me.
August 24, 2021 @ 6:45 am
Love this comment.
August 24, 2021 @ 8:14 am
I think it bears mentioning, that I have never heard of any of the grandmaster-level music critics featured in this thread. It’s almost as if some self-important wannabe’s realized they could string together enough thesaurus-attained metaphors to hobble out a few paragraphs about how THEY could do it so much better, and the other wannabe’s high-fived like Trump-supporters at an election-fraud audit, full of their own sense of clueless “authority.”
LOL, it’s all pretty transparent, really. “We could do better!” falls on deaf ears when you CAN’T do better. “I don’t like that guy, so nobody should!” is mere AM-radio talkshow trope, open self-importance, nothing more. Your local-yokel opinions are merely that, and swing no more weight than that of the person who will wear out Spotify listening to these tracks, and that is undeniable. Then, one of two things will happen:
1) Sturgill Simpson will have a successful record, and we will all stay local and obscure, for good reason, or,
2) Sturgill Simpson will not have as successful of a record, and we will all stay local and obscure. For VERY good reason.
Opinions truly are like assholes. I’ve learned to accept the smell of mine, but I don’t have to smell yours, no matter how much you think I do. Until I see a genre-changing discography from would-be music critics like this group, I’m just going to assume you’re merely trying to divert away from your own shortcomings, or we’d all be armchair-quarterbacking YOUR record. Beyond that, Trigger is the only qualified critic here, and he gets it pretty wrong sometimes. Get yourselves a banjo, boys, and go out there and twang-and-bang awhile, before you wax authoritative about some Dood you’d never compare to, in a genre you don’t understand. Oh, and that’s not an invitation to issue a Red Hat Resume, nobody wants to hear your small-town bona-fides, or why you “outrank” us. Before you criticize, excel.
August 24, 2021 @ 8:49 am
Everyone has a right to an opinion about music. That’s why I’ve insisted on hosting a robust comments section over the years. And yes, I’m wrong at times too. That’s why I want to give a forum to everyone to speaking their mind, and say what they believe. The final critic on music is time.
August 24, 2021 @ 11:32 am
Speaking of time, this will obviously peak high right away, but curious to see if it falls off like Reunions did. My guess is it will, but I’m just an armchair QB, so take that with a grain of salt.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:34 am
” … about how THEY could do it so much better, and the other wannabe’s high-fived like Trump-supporters at an election-fraud audit, full of their own sense of clueless “authority.””
Arent you just the Cutest!
Bet you think you’re pretty slick as well.
You’re not.
But, aren’t you just the cutest?!
Good one, little bot.
But Trigger won’t jump you.
He’ll call me out, for calling you out.
No prob.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:31 pm
My god, what fearlessness in the face of imaginary oppression! May I offer you a Sisterhood of the Traveling Victims merit badge? It won’t be laminated since no one actually called you out, but you have earned it nonetheless!
For fuck’s sake, quit whining.
August 24, 2021 @ 10:25 pm
Piss off, sweetheart.
August 30, 2021 @ 11:34 am
Actually, I AM pretty cute, IRL.
And whip-smart, too… why, I triggered the EXACT behavior I mentioned, from the very type of person I described.
It’s almost as if someone couldn’t add to the topic at hand, but they were “victimized” by my total denial of MAGA kayfabe, so they had to “punish” me for being on-the-nose. I can take that kind of “punishment” all day long, it gets me all giggly, like a Rudy Giuliani press-conference. You see, when someone tells me the sun didn’t come up this morning, it doesn’t MATTER how devoutly they believe it, who they heard it from, how many other people fell for it, or whose heroes are trying to convince me.
If you insist the sun didn’t come up this morning, all ANY of us has to do, is look out the window.
Well, looky there. Don’t I look cute in these sunglasses…
August 27, 2021 @ 10:06 am
Fixed-Location Rambler said, “…like Trump-supporters…”
Man, I just love, LOVE, how Trump continues to live in empty heads like yours rent free. Good stuff; keep it going!
August 27, 2021 @ 10:31 am
continues to live in empty heads like yours rent free
That line again.
August 30, 2021 @ 11:43 am
You don’t really “love” it. You just have zero effective rebuttal, within the context of the conversation.
Big Donny doesn’t live in my head, but his pigeons are a great source of silly, from Clorox to horse de-wormer.
I’ll reply with the one thing I say to those folks most often:
Is that all you got?
August 23, 2021 @ 10:31 am
Tell you what man, I put Sturgill’s catalog (including the two Sunday Valley records, High Top Mountain B-sides and other rarities) on shuffle and I can listen to it for as long as i want to listen. For my money it’s the best “complete discography” ever made. This new one will be a nice addition to that flow.
Thanks for reviewing the other ones first Trig! Enjoying the Sierra Hall record now before I listen to Garett T. Capps for the rest of the day!
August 23, 2021 @ 10:43 am
As far as concept albums go, I’ve always had a soft spot for Paul Kennerley’s “White Mansions” and “The Legend of Jesse James.” As far as “The Ballad of Dood and Juanita”, I had high hopes and they were met. I dig Sturgill the storyteller. I can’t knock the review. Everyone has their own expectations and preferences. It checked all the boxes for me, though.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:07 am
“Juanita” –
Vibes of Marty Robbins, “El Paso.”
August 23, 2021 @ 11:52 am
Perhaps not entirely musical plagiarism.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:32 am
Slightly OT, but has anybody ever figured out why Sturgill’s first album with Sunday Valley dropped off the face of the earth? It was so good and it’s almost impossible to find.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:31 pm
I can’t speak to the why but Reddit is your friend for this one. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere aside from shared files people so graciously sent me after diving down a rabbit hole on Reddit. I’ve got an entire catalog of all his Sunday Valley and tracks that didn’t make it to the albums. r/SturgillSimpson is a great place to start.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:20 pm
^ there’s your answer.
It’s impossible to obtain in a legal manner, unless you want to pay like $500 resale. If you want it, you’ll have to chance downloading from a shared drive.
I understand why it was pulled. Most artists cringe at their really early stuff, and I can’t imagine what his reaction would be to hearing “Folded Flag” nowadays.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:57 pm
I saw him touring behind metamodern in a shithole rental room in Bowling Green in 2014 and there was a guy yelling for folded flag between every song. Sturgill finally addressed him and basically said that song was part of his young, pissed off punk past and he had new songs to play if anyone cared to listen. I thought it was a pretty classy response at the time.
And while I’m commenting, I’m just gonna say that I didn’t care that much for Sound and Fury at first, but then I picked up a vinyl copy for cheap ( you know, complete the collection) and now I can stop spinning it. That album was mixed for vinyl. Great sound and separation on everything. It’s like a different record versus streaming.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:47 pm
That’s awesome, and a great way to handle that.
Man, that album got a ton of flack because the sound change was so jarring to a lot of folks. It’s a shame because the content of the songs was tremendous. The interviews that preceded the album and the fallout afterwards made it a lot worse, but I always felt people largely ignored what he was actually saying in those songs, and instead focused too much on how he was saying it elsewhere – and to be fair, he was being an asshole.
I’ve never heard it on vinyl, but am definitely interested now.
August 28, 2021 @ 6:59 pm
I was actually talking about To the Wind and On to Heaven, which didn’t have Folded Flag IIRC.
August 23, 2021 @ 11:52 am
Fair review, IMO.
I give the man a lot of credit to be willing to record a record like this. Once he had the financial support to do so, Stu has never been one to “stay in his lane”, much to the protests of many. And as someone who respects artists for being artists, it’s awesome to watch.
That said, I felt this one was very middle of the road. The middle of the album is great (Shamrock through Juanita), but it’s bookended by songs that just don’t do anything for me. The writing feels clunky and rushed on both “Dood” songs, which wouldn’t be as much of an issue if they weren’t a large, proportional chunk of the 28 minute album.
Hats off to him on the attempt, but it felt like a side project, and a rushed one at that.
August 24, 2021 @ 11:02 am
Totally agree here. Shamrock, Sam and Juanita will make it into my regular rotation, but not the rest aren’t sticking.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:11 pm
After listening to the album a few times, I am disappointed. Not that things aren’t good, but I was really hoping for something special that would leaving a lasting impression on country music. Glad to at least have some new material.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:12 pm
Slackeye Slim and Mama Coal. Hoky Shitballs.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:23 pm
I’m not a Sturgill hater, but the writing on this record is pretty bad. I mean, he’s just singing a story as somebody would casually tell it. It’s pretty lame.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:17 pm
Simpson is NOT a great storyteller, period. Thats an art in of itself, and the master storyteller just passed away, Tom Terrific Hall. Other decent storytellers (in my opinion of course) are:
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Dave Alvin
Charlie Daniels
Steve Earle
Cash
Slaid Cleaves
Willie
Guy Clark
John Prine
Dolly
Marty Robbins
Theres orhers im forgetting, but you get the point.
August 23, 2021 @ 12:33 pm
Well, that explains why it SOUNDS like he only spent a few days on it…
August 23, 2021 @ 1:01 pm
I like this album and the variety of music it has. Maybe short. But at least the album does not drag. All great songs that move along at a brisk pace. One of my favorite albums of the year so far.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:05 pm
I like the idea of this record more than I like the execution. I probably wont listen more than once.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:48 pm
It’s not bad, but it just sounds studied and self-conscious as hell to me, like he’s straining to make a “classic” record.
August 23, 2021 @ 1:55 pm
Just a quick shout-out to all the folks who’ve never found anything remarkable in this guy.
August 23, 2021 @ 2:56 pm
I had three albums on my to-do list.
Shane Nicholson, Montgomery Church & Sturgill Simpson with The Ballad… .
Three very different albums & hard to compare.
The Shane Nicholson album (Living In Colour) is a typical SN album. The singer/songwriter/producer & “modern” storyteller delivers again. The first half of the album is (in my opinion) stronger & filled with the (so far released) singles.
The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita came & went. Short…very short. More like an EP. The tracks have an old-time feeling. And? Well…here i have a problem with The Ballad. It can’t reach my heart.
Where The Quiet Can Hide is the second Montgomery Church album. An australian male/female duo.
Cielle Montgomery is singing lead on the majority of tracks…& the 10 tracks are damn fine.
Traditional country, acoustic, bluegrass, folk & with “Little William Brown” an instrumental…heart & soul from the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. My kind of music. AotY contender.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:29 pm
Ladies and Gentlemen, the best Western concept album is:
Desperado: Eagles
Bernie Leadon is terrific.
Hold on a sec while I duck from incoming.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:12 pm
Hey Doug T. Desperado is a very good album with a western theme. I play it myaelf often. My favorite one though, and more authentic, is Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. And the sequel album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. By none other than Marty Robbins.
Besides Red Headed Stranger, Willie had another one called Tougher Than Leather, which is criminally overlooked IMO. Love western albums.
August 24, 2021 @ 4:22 pm
I like Tougher Than Leather as well, but it’s overlooked because it’s a redo of Red Headed Stranger, just not nearly as good. And if Willie can’t redo Willie, Sturgill Simpson sure as hell can’t.
August 23, 2021 @ 9:45 pm
Nailed it. Doolin’ Dalton is a masterpiece.
August 24, 2021 @ 6:51 am
Desperado is a great album. Besides the songs we all know, it has some great deep cuts like Out of Control, Outlaw Man, Bitter Creek and Twenty One. It’s the only album by The Eagles that I love.
August 24, 2021 @ 8:16 am
The years brought the railroad
It ran by my door
Now there’s boards on the windows
And dust on the floor
And she passes the time at another man’s side
And I pass the time with my pride
Album is full of golden nuggets.
August 23, 2021 @ 3:39 pm
Gave it a spin. Won’t do it again. Really liked his first two albums. Not much since then.
August 23, 2021 @ 4:30 pm
“Weak shit man.” I’m clearly outmatched here, yet I’ll soldier on. I never said Styx was “genuine.” In fact, I’m not sure Tommy Shaw himself would say Styx was genuine. Styx wrote and continues to write music to sell albums. But, their harmonies and their arrangements are spot on. If Renegade and Blue Collar Man and Too Much Time on My Hands sucks to you but Sturgill Simpson is good stuff, I’m the winner here, you just don’t know it and never will. Further, I never mentioned politics and I’m not sure why everyone else seems to make that an issue. Is that an issue for you? And I’m not sure who the “authenticity bros” are. I’m not one. I don’t have bros. I get paid to argue important topics with intelligent people. On occasion, it’s fun to argue unimportant things with less intelligent people. Thank you for obliging me.
August 23, 2021 @ 5:46 pm
Well, you sound like a weirdo and I’m still trying to figure out why people talk people out of liking stuff. How do you argue against something subjective?
August 24, 2021 @ 7:30 pm
Thought you said that already! Yawn …..
August 23, 2021 @ 6:35 pm
Jim Beam, Styx, personal insults, politics, hipsters, Jason Isbell. Yep, another Sturgill review.
In all seriousness though, not just from the haters, consensus seems to be mostly disappointment. All the above aside (and personally I think all opinions are valid), speaking of just the MUSIC…Not sure why he seems to have an eversion to working on something to make it better. Wasn’t it Sailors Guide that he also wrote really fast?
Not suggesting he should make something like Hysteria, but maybe work on an album for a few weeks at least? Would that be a crazy idea?
August 23, 2021 @ 6:49 pm
Plenty of folks feel different I know, But for me personally, guys like Sturgill and Isbell are like someone trying to sell poop on a popsicle stick. Sure from a distance it might look like a chocolate fudgesicle, but if you get close enough it smells like siht, and if you are unfortunate enough to not be able to smell it beforehand and take a bite, you’ll get a big mouthful of siht also.
August 23, 2021 @ 7:15 pm
Like always, I couldn’t wait to get in my car for a two-hour drive and listen to a new Sturgill album. Six times times previously, I did the same thing: play Sturgill’s new album and once it was finished’ go back and listen to at least twice more, immediately. I played Dood & Juanita once, and then… not again. And I wondered why I didn’t. I figured it was just because there was no need to. I’d heard the story and it was “fine”. “Juanita” is a beautiful song and “Sam” was touching. But I know I won’t play them again. Very weird because I’ve always been a big fan of SS, I was drawn to him by the Waylon similarities on High Top Mountain, and stayed for all the resorts his albums. Contrary to the puzzling amount of hate he gets here and in a lot of other forums, I think Sturgill Simpson is extremely talented and has a lot to offer the music world. After all, Johnny’s, Willie’s, Waylon’s, and Kristofferson’s don’t grow on trees. But, I hate to say the Dood & Juanita was pretty forgettable for me. But you can be damn sure I’ll by the next one.
August 23, 2021 @ 7:20 pm
Idk what to say.. I like it though.. take it for what it is and enjoy it.. I watched Roy Rogers on the muppets last nite.. this album has some old time flare to it..hope for more albums from Sturgill. He is talented and interesting
August 23, 2021 @ 9:36 pm
Good album. Too short. Go in peace, juanita, and played out are my favorites. The other 5 are really good. 2 “songs” aren’t even songs. This could have been an epic album
August 23, 2021 @ 11:46 pm
Its an okay album from an amazing country artist. Thats about it.
August 24, 2021 @ 12:10 am
I wonder what happened to slackeye slim. He seems to have dissapeared, although his bandcamp and entry at gothicountry.se still exists. I like think he’s sitting in front of his house durning sunset with bottle of jim beam, composing new songs for an upcoming album
August 24, 2021 @ 7:53 am
I’m still around. Writing a lot. Raising a family in the desert of SW Colorado. Trying to be a good dad and husband. Thanks for remembering me!
August 25, 2021 @ 7:51 am
Trig’s review of El Santo Grial is what made me a near daily visitor to this website. I had listened to the album and wanted to see what others thought (I absolutely loved it and played it for years…time to revisit), and couldn’t find any other in-depth, well crafted reviews, other than here. At the time I lived in FL but am a CO resident myself. Sitting in my truck at a construction site in Golden as I type this. I need another Slackeye Slim record to listen to now that I have this landscape as a background.
August 24, 2021 @ 12:15 am
Didn’t read preceding comments but the mics were recorded very hot, and juanita took turn for the worse, second verse
August 24, 2021 @ 5:25 am
I remember when many of the alt-country fans were googoo about Whiskeytown and some of the country feel of it. For Ryan Adam’s part, he could not wait to leave the band and grow musically. I imagine many of us thought that Sturgill could simply grow within his magic genre he created in the earlier albums, but perhaps that is a place where he simply could not thrive or be happy in general. I only wish he had not handled so many things with such a poor attitude in the past. Perhaps we all could have empathized much more.
This album is a departure from what he used to do and I imagine it will not have lasting power. There is just a bit of magic lacking here and maybe he made it largely for the fans and not out of total love, which could explain it. We should all be happy he came back to a more country type of sound at the very least!
August 24, 2021 @ 8:54 am
One of my pet peeves is when people say you cannot be creative within the realm of country music. At times in his career, Sturgill has inferred this. Try listening to the catalog of Tom T. Hall who just passed away, and try to justify that stance. It’s an insult to country artists to say country music can’t be creative, or even that the genre is unnecessarily restrictive. Music critics outside of country love to make this point as well. It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what country music is, and the wide umbrella of influences and styles it contains.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:01 am
I hope you were not thinking I was suggesting this in general, but rather perhaps within a specific person. I believe in general there is unlimited amounts of creativity we have yet to see. I struggle with my own songwriting to alter learned or innate patterns within my brain to create variance in my songs. It leads to frustration and subsequent lack of passion. Passion is a complex thing and I have seen a lack of it in his interviews about his older albums and the genre they lived within.
August 24, 2021 @ 9:42 am
No worries. I was sort of using your comment to riff on a pet peeve of mine as opposed to a direct answer. I agree about the passion thing. Either you have it, or you don’t. And when you don’t, sometimes it’s best to not push it.
August 24, 2021 @ 8:52 am
I enjoyed this album, but not sure that I’ll revisit it very often with the exception of Sam. As a dog lover, there’s something about the good friend that’s gone too soon that touches my soul. As for the debate that this has devolved into, I don’t understand the bitterness and ugliness. I’m not an a fan of 90% of Isbill’s solo work, but good for you if you dig it. I’ve had a 25 year good-natured argument with one of my college roommates over Shotgun Willie being a better album than Red Headed Stranger. Music conversations were a whole lot more fun when it was banter about what we liked rather than today’s you’re a dumbass if you don’t like what I like free for all.
August 24, 2021 @ 3:15 pm
I really enjoyed the new album. I also want to say that I love Sturgill’s politics too. Thought I would drop that in here because I’m sure someone on this thread felt the need to point out the opposite view point. (Again). He knows where he came from and isn’t stupid enough to be bamboozled by a Snake Oil Salesman.
August 27, 2021 @ 10:13 am
Snake Oil Salesman? JoeBama? 😉
August 30, 2021 @ 11:48 am
Nah, Fat Donny.
August 24, 2021 @ 7:50 pm
Bygod least he’s putting out some country.
August 25, 2021 @ 5:16 am
I’ve only given it one listen so far, and I haven’t yet really paid close attention to the lyrics, but “rushed” was exactly the word that came to mind for me. Trigger’s review is spot on.
And I say that as a huge Sturgill fan who loves all of his releases so far as well as the Sunday Valley stuff (with Metamodern being his pinnacle in my opinion). It’s nice, but I didn’t hear surprising melodic turns, unexpected chord changes, moments that stop me in my tracks, etc. — the kinds of things I get on every other Sturgill album. I was nervous when I read the bit about Sturgill finishing the entire album (from songwriting to recording in a matter of days), and indeed I think spending some more time on the songs probably would have really elevated the album.
That said, most of Sturgill’s albums have grown on me over time, so I will give it more listens and keep an open mind.
August 25, 2021 @ 6:57 am
I really like the album. Love it. I like how he was editing and this did leave many wanting more. I get that. The trip down old mountain music lane was awesome! The story was touching and cute. I liked it. I’ve listened ten times. Can’t wait to get the vinyl. Appreciate reading all the reviews.
August 25, 2021 @ 7:52 am
Every Sturgill album for me has taken a few listens before I truly appreciate how great it is. This one is no different. Was lukewarm at first but now I can’t stop listening. It does seem like more of an EP but I don’t hate that.
August 26, 2021 @ 3:44 pm
“Played Out” and “One in the Saddle, One on the Ground” are well written, but the music is conventional and basically adequate. The other songs are like what you might see in some high school creative writing notebook. I’m glad he completed the project, even if it’s worth just a single listen.
Simpson has a gift for self-sabotage, which is a pity. If you never try really hard at something, you never have to face criticism that might actually hurt. Sturgill did okay at song-writing, but just okay. He hasn’t written anything that compares to the work of his heroes, but who can fault him for that?
The only thing that’s sad is that Simpson seems to have counted on his anger to carry him to glory. And now that it hasn’t, he probably gets to fling his anger at acting or something, just to thrash around and then act like he’s “the only one out there.”
Maybe it’s time to focus on his family. Plant a garden. Play covers at the local bar. Develop deep friendships and lend a hand. Find him some Jesus. Build him a home, etc.
And spend more time on his songs so that in ten years he can come out with something good and durable.
August 26, 2021 @ 8:21 pm
Colter Wall was doing country and western ballads before it was cool.
Now hear me out. I am by no means complaining, simply commenting on how Sturgill releasing this work validates and solidifies the legitimacy of country n western at the round table of alt country. The story line arc of Dood and Juanita intersects at various points the same narrative Colter tells in his ballad “Bald Butte”.
Truly this is exciting for me to see how Colter is having an influence on a person as averse to outside influence as Sturgill. I just hope Colter gets some credit for the wave he started.
August 29, 2021 @ 9:46 pm
I love most of Sturgill’s music but I’m mystified about why he would put out this album. The music, what there is of it, is fine, I guess, but there are no moments which take me by surprise and strike a chord in my soul as there are on his other albums. Frankly, I find most bluegrass to be pretty unexciting, even at it’s best, so it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed any of Sturgill’s output.
But I’m more of a lyrics person and the lyrics on this new album are astonishingly bad. Sturgill has called himself a poet and I know that he is capable of writing amazingly profound, graceful and poetic lyrics. In this album, however, the lyrics are uncomfortably awkward and uninteresting. It’s clear that Sturgill did not take the time to craft them into the stellar lyrics he usually produces. I’m guessing that he wrote them down and never changed a word in an effort to sound old timey and authentic but managed to make them simply dull and ungainly.
The story, itself, is unimaginative. Not much really happens. Nothing, apparently, that Sturgill though warranted more than a line or two. Except, of course, when his dog dies.
I’m incredulous that Juanita doesn’t have any voice in the songs. She is seen only through the eyes of Dood. She has no life or agency in the story at all. She’s just a shadowy woman we know nothing about except her name, the color of her eyes and hair and her ability to, somehow, “tame” a very violent man (something that only happens in fairy tales). We know a lot about the travails of Dood, his mule and his dog but not a word about what Juanita endured during her kidnapping. This album is not “The Ballad of Dood and Juanita”, it’s actually just “The Ballad of Dood and What a Badass He Was.”
Not to mention, they have two children who seem to be even less important than the mule, the dog and Juanita. They don’t even get to have names at all and they are left alone!! Sturgill could have filled out the album a lot by giving these other three people lives and songs of their own.
Then we get the trope of the “noble savage” Navajos who only want to help these two strangers. And again no idea of what happened to Juanita there. We just have to presume they treated her like a princess. Why would they trade a valuable horse for Juanita in the first place? And then give her to Dood for free?
Sturgill has been ramping up his masculinity quota a lot lately. Despite his obvious respect for his wife, this album seems to reflect a lack of respect for women in general that can be seen pretty clearly in his songs over the years. I can’t think of a single song that isn’t about some woman walking out on him or Sarah. The Sound and Fury video had two women characters (that I can remember) but I felt like they were just there for the surprise reveal when they take off their man outfits.
So, I’m sorely disappointed in this new album. I believe Sturgill when he says he won’t make another one alone. I think he has lost his interest in being in the music business and he will mostly move on to acting and playing out all his hyper masculine fantasies.
Oh well…
August 29, 2021 @ 10:10 pm
“I’m incredulous that Juanita doesn’t have any voice in the songs. She is seen only through the eyes of Dood. She has no life or agency in the story at all.”
Good point. And a good one about the kids as well. It just feels like even to complete the story Sturgill wanted to tell, you would need three or more songs. It all just feels so perfunctory from someone we’re used to being so purposeful.
I have to say, I personally don’t feel “a lack of respect for women in general,” from Sturgill or this record. But then again, I’m not a woman, so maybe I’m just not attune to it.
August 29, 2021 @ 10:50 pm
I still love Sturgill for all his great music and live performances and, to be honest, I like a very masculine man but it’s been gradually getting to be a little too much in the last few years.
For instance, in his interview on the Trillbilly Worker’s Party podcast from 2020:
https://soundcloud.com/user-972848621-463073718/unlocked-premium-88-screwy-stuey-the-6-million-man-do-gatlinburg-w-special-guest-sturgill-simpson
He all but ignores Tanya Turner, one of the Trillbillys, and talks over her several times which he doesn’t do to the two male Trillbillys. He even says to them at one point, “I’m a pretty masculine dude, right?” which leaves them speechless.
Starting with the Dick Daddy Survival School, he just seems to be acquiring more and more of a “dude doing dude stuff” vibe with things like bow hunting, race cars and now the cowboy persona.
I miss the more sensitive Sturgill and I think this album would have benefited a lot had that guy been more involved with it.
August 30, 2021 @ 9:44 pm
Yeah, I’ve never really understood the whole Dick Daddy thing. It’s like an inside joke I’m not in on or something. The Trillbilly’s podcast is also when he called yours truly a “butthurt obsessed fan boy” and he was sort of in peak “scorched earth Sturgill.” I think and hope he’s moved on from that phase.
I know he thinks the world of his wife. I’m not sure if he’s on a macho kick or not, but you may be on to something. The photos from the Rolling Stone feature were ludicrous and patronizing.
September 3, 2021 @ 6:37 am
I just want to make some corrections to my previous post. It was late when I wrote it and I didn’t check my facts.
I mistakenly wrote that the Navajo had traded for Juanita in the song. Instead it was, of course, the Cherokee who had Juanita. I also questioned why they would give Juanita to Dood after trading more than one horse for her. I have since learned that: “The federal government caused the former Kansas Shawnees and the Cherokees to enter into a formal agreement in 1869, whereby the Shawnees received allotments and citizenship in [the] Cherokee Nation.” Where they each kept “…separate communities and separate cultural identities.”
So it’s not so unlikely that the Cherokee would have helped the couple, I guess, although I still don’t see any reason why they would have traded horses for Juanita in the first place and then let her leave, presumably, without compensation.