Music
July 2009 48 TrucKers News July 2009 48 TrucKers News Here WitH Me Holly Williams When you're the daughter of Bocephus, you tend to tell it like it is. I'm such a blatantly honest person, says Holly Williams, and I love to listen to an album and think the artist is truly sharing their life with me. I like to feel like I'm really getting in and knowing that person. With this sophomore album, she has succeeded in creating the type of CD that would easily find a place among the works of her favorite artists. Penning the ma-jority of the album's 11 tracks, including the stellar single Keep the Change, Williams writes with piercing clarity on situations plucked from her life. At 28, the Alabama-born, Tennessee-bred singer has been using music to tell the story of her life and those around her for the better part of two decades. But in March 2006, tragedy almost struck. She and her older sister Hilary were involved in a devastating wreck in Tunica, Miss., and the sis-ters were both in critical condition. Looking back on the accident, Williams is thankful she and her sister survived. The events of that day forever changed the course of her life and serve as the inspiration for one of 's most stirring tracks, Without Jesus Here With Me. Living through that wreck was a miracle, she says. My sister told me one mile before it happened to put on my seatbelt. I usually never would have put it on, but it saved my life. Even the fact that my arm is here is a miracle. The car was lying on top of it. We landed sideways, and they thought when they pulled me out of the car that my arm wouldn't be going with me. But it was only broken. The whole experience was a real turning point for me. Her new songs began to take on a more straightfor-ward tone. One song in particular, Mama, struck a chord with Williams' live audiences and eventually led to a re-cord deal with Mercury Nashville. It is the latest single from the CD. Grade: A 127 rose Avenue Hank Williams Jr. Hank Williams Jr. may be 60, but he was born to boogie, as we all know. And he's got a knack for politics, too. In Novem-ber, Bocephus announced he'd run for Tennessee's U.S. Senate seat in 2012 as a Republican, challeng-ing incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Corker. Williams was reported to have already consulted with Sen. Lamar Alexander and former Sen. Bill Frist, both Republicans from Tennessee. He gives us a taste of his future politics with his first studio album in six years, which includes the popular blue-collar anthem, Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues. The overtly political track touches on the present economic problems. Other songs of note include Gulf Shore Road, Last Driftin' Cowboy and a remake of one of his father's classics, Long Gone Lonesome Blues. Grade: B BluegrAss & Beyond BoBBy osBorne & tHe rocky top X-press Bobby Osborne, legend-ary mandolin player and vocalist with the seminal bluegrass ensemble The Osborne Brothers (singers of the 1968 classic Rocky Top ), returns with his band the Rocky Top X-Press for the aptly titled . This is a sparkling collection featuring generous helpings of straight-ahead bluegrass, gospel soul and traditional country, and it includes blue-grass arrangements of some surprising material (The Eagles' Girl From Yesterday, Eddie Rabbit's Drivin' My Life Away ). Guest appearances include Marty Stuart, Connie Smith ( What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul ) and Rhonda and Darrin Vincent ( After the Fire Is Gone ), along with solid support from the Rocky Top X-Press. Grade: B Up From Tragedy music reviews Jon rAwl ElvisCostello'slatestrelease delvesintocountryand bluegrass. includesJerry Douglasondobro,Stuart Duncanonfiddle,Mike Comptononmandolinand JimLauderdaleandEmmylou Harrisonharmonyvocals, amongothers. DaveMatthewsBand's Whiskey and the Groogrux istheband'sseventh studioalbumandthefirst since2005's. Thelegendaryparodyband SpinalTapiscelebratingthe 25thanniversaryofthe This IsSpinalTap mockumentary byreleasinganewalbum, ,itsfirst since1992's . souNd BiTes