Darrell Scott - Long Ride Home Review

Darrell Scott enjoys a reputation as one of country music’s most talented guitar and steel players, so it was no surprise when Led Zep’s Robert Plant asked Scott to join Plant’s Band of Joy. Scott’s backed up such talents as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless on their recordings. But Scott is also a wonderful songwriter, which is evident here on his seventh studio album. The material itself stands out more than the playing, and that’s saying a lot.


Sure, Scott picks and slides his way through the songs with considerable finesse. He’s also joined by luminaries such as, Patty Griffin, Tim O’Brien, Rodney Crowell and others on several tracks. More importantly, the album’s core band features the piano playing of country legend Hargus “Pig” Robbins (George Jones, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, etc.), acoustic bassist Dennis Crouch (Johnny Cash, Charlie Louvin, T-Bone Burnett, etc.) and drummer Kenny Malone (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, etc.). As good as the musicianship is, and good is certainly an understatement, they are great—the songwriting is better. That’s not a total shock. Scott has penned top notch material for artists such as Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill....full text Darrell Scott has penned songs for some of country's biggest stars, so no doubt there's a line queuing up at his studio door to see what's available on his new self-produced record. Brad Paisley already laid claim to Scott's Out in the Parking Lot, but hearing Scott and Texas troubadour Guy Clark sing and strum this one, you are immediately transported to a dusty back-road Texas bar. Still, there's plenty left on this 16-song gem, as Scott sings like an love-struck schoolboy on You're Everything I Wanted Love to Be yet laments his lonely, bleak existence on It Must Be Sunday.

Still Got a Ways to Go is a bluesy, twisted soul-searcher, No Love in Arkansas (The Ring) has the haunting echo of Scott's You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive (which was recorded by Patty Loveless, among others). The impossibility of a distant love between a woman and her drifting man comes to life on Candle for a Cowboy then Scott turns around as if it's part II and sings the autobiographical Every Road Leads Back to You.

Lost in song after song of Scott's take on the human condition is his vocals - sometimes breathless, other times growling and bluesy, occasionally offering a verbal wink and nod, but one that's always steady and inviting. Other performers will soon cover a handful of these songs, but none will sing them quite like the guy who wrote them....full text Darrell Scott could have padded out his seventh album with some of the hits he's penned for country music heavies, but he cares too much for the craft of songwriting and his audience to take the easy way out. Like his last album, Long Ride Home was recorded at his home studio, but this time he invited along a bunch of musician friends to help flesh out the tunes. The core band is Scott on guitar, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Dennis Crouch on standup bass, and drummer Kenny Malone, all hardcore Nashville pros with thousands of hits to their collective names. The songs are an autobiographical sketch of Scott's early years, full of details about family, friends, hard times, and good old country music. "Hopkinsville," a honky tonk rocker about hard work and hard living, features harmony vocals from Rodney Crowell and deep bluesy piano work from Robbins. Scott co-wrote "Out in the Parking Lot" with Guy Clark, who shares lead vocals with him. It's a subtle, folksy portrait of good ol' boys getting plastered behind a bar as they watch their lives unwind, for better or worse. "Too Close to Comfort" is a cheatin' song with a conscience that doesn't downplay the moral ambiguity of unfaithful liaisons. Tim O'Brien and John Cowan add wailing harmonies to Scott's distressing lead vocal. The ragtime-flavored "No Use Living for Today" is a jaunty lament that makes hard times sound like fun and brings to mind the songs of Jimmie Rodgers. "The Country Boy" tells the story of a country singer from cradle to grave, in three succinct verses and a poignant chorus, with Robbins contributing another impressive turn on piano. This 16-song set is over an hour long, a generous musical and spiritual offering from a songwriter who never talks down to his audience....full text