Various Artists Crazy: Music Inspired by the life of Hank Garland Review by Gary Hill
This soundtrack album is quite a cool one, particularly for fans of old school guitar. It moves between jazz and country territories and has some music that will be instantly recognizable and some that will be new. It’s an entertaining set that holds up better than a lot of soundtrack albums do.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Opening Riff
This is literally a cool little jazzy riff.
Sugarfoot Rag Here we get a bouncy piece of bluegrass. This is tasty.
Crazy – Performed by Madeleine Peyroux I like this track. I’ve always enjoyed this song, and the little bit of a jazz twist it gets here is interesting.
Honky Tonk Blues – Performed by Stacy Earl There’s a real down home element to this. It’s got some tasty guitar soloing.
Angel Eyes I love this tasty jazz texture. This cool instrumental is one of the highlights of the set.
Rock-a-Billy Baby Here we get a smoking hot rockabilly instrumental.
Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) – Performed by Roy Orbison This is a classic cut from the late, great Mr. Orbison.
I Can't Stop Loving You – Performed by Shawn Colvin The vocals on this track fit it, down home old school country music. It’s a good number, but not really my style.
Jingle Bell Rock – Performed by Kip Lennon This is the classic Christmas rock and roll number. It’s always been an excellent piece.
Tennessee Waltz – Performed by Shawn Colvin This is another mellow old school country piece.
Voom Here we get a killer jazz jam. It reminds me in some ways of something Zappa would have done, but with a real retro jazz texture.
Lazy A mellow and slow moving piece of music, this has a little bit of a space rock texture to it, but is an instrumental version of “Crazy.”
Walking After Midnight – Performed by Mandy Barnett This is an old cowboy styled dance number.
Lonesome Road - Performed by Madeleine Peyroux Here’s a track that does a nice job of combining country with jazz.
Hank's Dream This instrumental has a definite old school country texture and is a killer rockabilly jam.
Dreams In G A spacey cut, this is pretty and quite intriguing. There are hints of country music here, but it’s really ambient space.
I Fall To Pieces - Performed by Mandy Barnett This track reminds me a lot of “Crazy.” It’s a tasty, old-time country music number.
Nothing That You Were Here we have a smoking hot jazz trio styled instrumental. There’s some great guitar soloing all over this.
Larry's Lament A pretty and delicate little jazz instrumental, this is cool.
Jam At the Gate Here we get a classic jazz swing jam. It’s a tasteful number that really works well.
Hank's Shuffle Another instrumental, this is a cool little acoustic guitar driven ditty.
Sugarfoot Boogie The final cut on the set, this is another guitar boogie.
