Traditionalist Reality Star Jake Worthington Releases New EP (review)
Ever since reality TV singing competition contestants became a thing in the music world, there’s been a lot of false starts, failed attempts, and superficial entries into the traditional country realm that looked promising at the beginning, but for one reason or another, never really panned out. Remember Jason “Wolf” Hamlin from American Idol with his Wolverine haircut and hand-me-down “guit-fiddle” singing “Folsom Prison Blues?” I’m afraid to admit I do. His recent album actually isn’t half bad, but it’s not like his national TV appearance landed him a development deal on a major label and packed clubs on regional tours.
Then there’s former American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, who despite having an astounding voice—which he sometimes uses for ill, and other times doesn’t use at all—seems to be perpetually stuck as an “also ran” on his major label roster. Or how about The Voice Season 7 winner Craig Wayne Boyd? We were singing his praises when he and Blake Shelton paid tribute to Wayne Mills during an episode, and put Johnny Cash back in the charts by covering one of his songs. Then he released a single which was incredibly vanilla, and last word was that he’s parted ways with Big Machine Records because he’s un-coachable.
When staunch traditionalist Jake Worthington made it all the way to the Season 6 finale of The Voice and was filling folks full of hope that a traditional country star could be crowned King of America and usher in a new era of classic country greatness, Saving Country Music’s stance was to tell everyone to tap the brakes. More times than not these contestants just don’t pan out for one reason or another, whether it’s because their popularity flames out right after the season ends, or they turn out to be not nearly as true country as originally advertised.
With Jake Worthington there’s one thing for sure: he’s not changing his traditional country stripes just because The Voice is long gone. Singing songs like Waylon’s Dukes of Hazzard “Good ‘Ol Boys” theme and Hank Jr.’s “Country Boy Can Survive” during his run on The Voice, you knew Worthington wasn’t presenting a false front. He even had Blake “Old Farts & Jackasses” Shelton talking about the virtues of traditional country on national television.
Like so many of these contestants, not much has come of Jake Worthington in regards to industry success after his finale appearance in May of 2014, but he has just released a new EP. Settling somewhere between John Anderson and George Strait, this five-song offering is a straight-laced true country testament from start to finish that leaves little to no doubt where the heart of the young Jake Worthington lies. Whether considering the music or the message, Worthington reaches back to the late 80’s and earlier for his inspiration, and appears uninterested in chasing the hot trends.
“Don’t Let The Redneck (Fool Ya)” is a sort of country rocker about a woman that may look like a hayseed on the outside, but is savvy as any slickster at getting her way. “This Damn Memory” is a much more traditional-sounding fiddle-driven waltz with an emotionally-aching narrative. And in a different era “Just Keep Falling in Love” very well could have been a jukebox hit.
But Worthington is still young, and utilizes a sound and style that is still more interpretive than original. “Friends” is a the record’s ballad, and captures a very compelling story, but makes use of the “drinking/thinking” word switch that has been done so many times over the years. “That’s When” is a fine song, but similar to Randy Travis’ “Deeper Than The Holler” and a dozen other songs, it makes use of certain artifacts to describe the endless length of love.
I hate to keep going back to the same names as today’s standard bearers, but what makes artists like Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton, and to an extent Kacey Musgraves so special is that they honor the country roots, but do so in a way that is still fresh and original. Just because something is country, doesn’t immediately mean it’s good. Music still must push forward and find new ways speak to old familiar human emotions.
In this EP, Jake Worthington proves that his motives are pure and his roots are strong. And he still has plenty of time to develop into something more original as time moves forward. He’s got the voice, and he got the passion. And this is what EP’s are supposed to be for: setting foundations to build a career from and helping to figure out where an artist should go.
With Jake Worthington, hopefully it’s “up” with the emerging crop of younger traditionalist performers.
1 1/2 of 2 Guns Up.
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October 18, 2015 @ 7:26 pm
Great review! Thanks so much for posting!
October 18, 2015 @ 7:28 pm
I hear a hint of good ole George Jones in his voice.
October 18, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
I heard him on the voice…. based on his singing on this tune, I think they might have “decountrified” his singing a bit on that show, cause the singing style here is I think far more country sounding than what I recall hearing from him on the voice.
And more great playing on this tune. Great band/arrangement
Really like this tune.
October 19, 2015 @ 7:55 am
My wife loves that show, so, by proxy I tend to see a good chunk of it every season. My biggest issue with it is that they tend to de-“everything” with the singers. It’s bizarre. I don’t know if it’s a production decision, or a coaching method, but no one on the show reaches for a note or pushes an octave or anything. Even the singers with what you can tell are good voices, they reign them in. It produces really flat, almost-karaoke level versions of the songs they’re singing, and is really jarring on tracks where a high or strong note is a signature bit of the song. The past week, with the guy who’s a 20-something travis tritt clone, singing “I’m gonna be somebody” of all songs, they reigned him in. His initial takes, you could hear him belt it out, as he’s probably done the song 500 times, when it came time for the main show, it was this subdued, weak version, It just boggles my mind.
October 19, 2015 @ 9:00 am
you’re right about that kid, I noticed that too”¦.
October 18, 2015 @ 7:43 pm
Awesome
October 18, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Thanks for a great write up on this young man. He’s staying true to his roots and love having some new old country music again.
October 18, 2015 @ 8:26 pm
Why do posters on here obsess over how a singer “sounds” regarding whether or not they are authentic country? Country music can evolve, it is about a style of life, and the things they sang about in the 60’s and 70’s aren’t the same issues people of that class face today. Some are, but many have changed. It’s just as embarrassing to hear the latest ridiculous bro country song as it is the insanely wealthy George Strait still talking about driving a broken down car.
I hate bro country as much as everyone else on here, but trying to emulate an old George Jones is just as phony as bro country.
October 18, 2015 @ 9:14 pm
Who said he was trying to emulate anyone? The review is just stating that Jake managed to stay true to his roots in the transition from being on the tv show to releasing his own original music.
October 20, 2015 @ 6:48 am
Kevin-well there was that famous country artist-I forget who, I think it was Waylon-who said “We’d all sound like George Jones if we could”. He was just paying tribute to Jones, I’m sure, as much as I love George Jones, the world of country music would be a much poorer place without the voices of Hanks Sr and Jr, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride, Waylon himself (love that west Texas grit in his voice, Jones was east Texas, a region called the “Big Thicket” if I recall correctly), Willie’s idiosyncratic style, and of the newer crop (showing my age here, as usual), Randy Travis, who has Jones’s stylings with less grit in the voice. And that’s just the men-I will never not be blown away by Tammy Wynette’s voice, or Bobbie Gentry’s husky velvet, Loretta’s mountain authenticity, the sweet blend of the Original Carter Family, the seamless family sound of the Louvin Brothers, the Judds, and the Kendalls, Emmylou’s angelic purity, etc. I appreciate the smooth voices of a lot of the Nashville Sound era males, the pop inflections of Lynn Anderson and Jeannie C Riley, so very many others. Even the one-offs (at least as far as radio hits went) like CW McCall are memorable, not just the sng, but the voice.
October 18, 2015 @ 10:04 pm
As I’ve explained here in earlier posts , these reality show things rarely fly . Not because a singer is or isn’t talented . But because the mystique is gone by the time he sings his first note . We know too much . We don’t want to see behind the curtain even if we might think we do . We want to be driving down the hi-way to work one morning and be touched emotionally by a voice and a lyric . Telling us where a singer grew up , what his dad did for a living , where he played his first gig , what his favorite breakfast cereal is , what color socks he wears and watching him be TAUGHT ( read MANIPULATED ) by coaches who could use some teaching themselves is just a bunch or inconsequential bullshit to fill out a rap sheet .it makes an act look desperate , weak and NOT in control of his life or his artistic direction . ITS THE SONG – JUST THE SONG . That’s what’s gonna give an artist credibility and legs career-wise ……..not a bunch of useless non-industry related tidbits of information . Sure …that works on a TV show . For about FIVE MINUTES ! But you don’t get all that shit on a radio station . You get the song , the sound of the singer’s voice and the lyric . That artist has to live or die by that alone , in the end ….NOT the fact that his great grampa was a cab driver who once drove Toby Keith’s uncle to a ball game . In these hyper-communication times ,the mystique is NEVER left intact .
October 18, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
Then what explains The Voice being one of the most popular shows on television?
Yes, the music always comes first, but does this mean I shouldn’t be intrigued by an autobiography of an artist?
October 19, 2015 @ 7:21 am
“Then what explains The Voice being one of the most popular shows on television?
Yes, the music always comes first, but does this mean I shouldn”™t be intrigued by an autobiography of an artist? ”
Yes …it IS the most popular show on TELEVISION Trigger …..for good reason . Its pretty entertaining. GREAT singers …GREAT band ….fun ” judges” etc.. But its REALITY TELEVISION and as such is far more concerned with VISUAL entertainment and back story than the power of a great song lyric . I would contend that one of the reasons the ” winning artists ” don’t , on a regular basis , go on to bigger and better things is BECAUSE they are REALITY TV STARS . Most are NOT artists in the truest sense of the word ( Stapleton , Merle , Sturgil, Loretta Lynn etc… ) . They are folks who become known only for their 15 minutes of fame and that doesn’t sustain a career . I’d also contend that most folks watching the voice are not serious music fans .They are TV fans/talent show fans/ ‘story’ fans / which is fine , of course .Great for the show and for the fans – for as long as the TV screen is lit up . Outside of the show and the hype and the occasional label push, the contestants remain faceless and musically meaningless if they haven’t tapped into a radio audience with a GREAT song and delivered it with an artistry that defines them . They are just talented but forgettable window dressing and attract folks who are OK with that for a few weeks of TV .We all know who the four stars REALLY are .
October 19, 2015 @ 3:03 am
There are a lot of strange instruments in this song, I couldn’t tell you what they were to save my life.
Also the lack of the usage of words such as ‘Dixie cup’ ‘truck’ and ‘tailgate’ sadden me.
This song is not country music. Gonna wanna tonight is true country music. Not even Hank Williams, whoever he is, would produce such a masterpiece.
October 19, 2015 @ 5:26 am
Hysterical. Thanks for the laugh, whoever you are.
October 19, 2015 @ 6:47 am
There wasn’t even painted on blue jeans. how is this country :'(
October 19, 2015 @ 7:33 am
This almost reads like Lil Dale after 4 years of college. Almost.
October 19, 2015 @ 7:50 am
You are kidding right? The kind of music that is being played on the radio today can’t even be considered country music. That stuff that they are calling country music sounds like a bunch of political BS.
Craig first song after the show was should have never been released. He is so much better than his first song. I believe that Jake has taken his time proceeding with his music and with that being said he just didnt put something out there to have a song out. Big labels are about the dollar and really the maketing is what is shoved in peoples faces by paying tons of money to radio stations to play this so called bro country music. Artist like Craig and Jake hell even Aaron Watson a hell of Texas artist should be played on country radio. I honestly dont care for what is being played on the radio toady. My opinion country music is not what it use to be and with the hopes of it coming back to the way it once was. Just maybe Jake and All the the other great Texas artist can pull together and reclaim country music and push this other BS out. Maybe the strange instruments you are hearing may make since because all that other stuff surely isnt counrty.
October 20, 2015 @ 6:56 am
LOL, I do love a good snark 🙂
October 19, 2015 @ 5:25 am
Man, all of these songs have been done before, and done better. I’m pleased that they let the guy continue down the traditionalist path, but his voice is pedestrian and he’s not exactly ready for the Luke Bryan skinny jeans so what else are you going to do with him? This Damn Memory is probably the most successful song on the EP, but I really don’t see him going anywhere. Not until he develops a voice that makes people want to listen to it. There is no comparison to Anderson, Strait, or Jones, none whatsoever.
October 19, 2015 @ 6:13 am
I think Trig meant musically rather than vocally when comparing him to Anderson and Strait. I have no idea where people are getting George Jones. If I’m hearing anyone from Worthington vocally, it is Travis Tritt.
I like the song and I hope he finds some success/
October 19, 2015 @ 6:25 am
“If I”™m hearing anyone from Worthington vocally, it is Travis Tritt.”
Right?
October 19, 2015 @ 9:50 am
I’m obviously not comparing Jake Worthington to George Strait or John Anderson as far as the accomplishments of his career or even singing voice. It was simply a stylistic reference. I do think he can sing though, but like most younger artists, it may take some time for him to find his sweet spot.
October 19, 2015 @ 7:24 am
On Craig Wayne Boyd, he told me at CMA Fest that the label wanted him to put out something that would teeter on bro-country and he didn’t want to. Thus, they parted ways with one another. Some might term that uncoachable. I believe – if true – the man deserves an award for not giving in.
October 19, 2015 @ 7:50 am
UnBROachable?
October 19, 2015 @ 7:33 am
I wish country singers had to hit on country radio before most people ever got a peek at them, so they’d be judged on their voices and their phrasing and their songs before they ever got judged on their looks (same goes for rock, can anyone imagine Janis Joplin, zits, split ends and all, making it these days even with that amazing, bluesy, cigarettes-and-whiskey voice? And as best as I know, she never got the “makeover” treatment, not counting her own personal version of a makeover with the feathers and boas, etc). In the days of classic country, the first glimpse most of us ever got of the faces in front of the voices we loved was their picture on the cover of their records, and their makeovers were nothing like the full-bore remakes we see now. Could the young Willie Nelson (pre “icon” status”, before he grew his hair out and made the bandana one of his trademarks), or Hank Sr, Merle, Roy Acuff, have achieved their legend status these days, back when their voices had to carry them (as it should be, in my opinion). Kitty Wells, who looked like the everyday mother and wife that she really was, even a bit dowdy even in her own day, only with her non-everyday talent? I LIKED it that all Tammy did was stand there, it made it all the more amazing when that voice erupted from her. If I can’t enjoy their singing just as much, if not more, by listening to them without even thinking of their looks, I have to wonder how much of what they’re offering is sheer talent. Sure, they wanted to stand out and look good (Nudie suits, anyone?) but it was their own personal vision of how they wanted to look, not some professional airbrushing all the humanity out of them (and if country music isn’t authentic, or at least comes across as authentic, it just isn’t anything, at least not anything country).
More musings from a fogey 🙂
October 19, 2015 @ 8:40 pm
Don’t Let The Redneck (Fool Ya) – After I bought the EP, I looked at the titles and thought I would probably play that track last and maybe only one time. Surprisingly, I liked the song! I am enjoying the hell out of Worthington’s entire EP.
One thing that stands out to me is Jake’s Southeast Texas country accent. This is the real thing, folks. Sometimes I buy a country album and find that an artist unnecessarily forces the twang so much that it’s obviously a chore for them. When this happens I get worn out listening to the song, and I’m glad when it’s over.