CD Reviews- Randy Houser- They Call Me Cadillac

The Background:
Randy Houser's second album, They Call Me Cadillac, will be released Sept. 14 by Show Dog-Universal Music. Houser wrote the first single from the album, "I'm All About It." Lee Ann Womack sings harmony on one of the tracks, "Addicted." The album was co-produced by Cliff Audretch and Mark Wright. "I put my heart into this record," Houser said. "We went into the studio with a direction in mind, conceptually, for the album, and the result is something I'm really proud of. I think people are ready to hear real country music again, and I'm one of them." Houser's hits include "Anything Goes," "Boots On" and "Whistlin' Dixie."

The Review:
Steel guitars and Randy Houser go together like peas and carrots. Honky-tonk rocking and Randy Houser go together like Jack and Coke. And for that matter, country blues and Randy Houser go together like mac and cheese. Make you hungry? It should. Lucky for you, They Call Me Cadillac will satisfy that appetite for a great country music album.

The album opens up appropriately set in a barroom on “Lowdown and Lonesome.” Filled with booze and blues and lyrics like “my bartender hangs her picture on the wall just in case I can’t remember how I wound up in this place.” “They Call Me Cadillac” is a fun spirited autobiography with a fantastic use of the steel guitar. It hits its high point with the outstanding blues-drenched plead for his woman to stay the night backed by heavenly harmony by Lee Ann Womack on “Addicted.” You can almost feel the sweat-soaked delivery that seems delivered from some small town back room barroom. It probably wasn’t recorded that way. But it could have. He does his best King George impression on “Here With Me”- a beautiful piano ballad backed by- you guessed it- steel guitar. It’s a love song Strait-forward. “Whistlin’ Dixie” is a Jason Aldean(ish) rocker celebrating all things southern from a “son of a son of the south.” Is it critically meaningful? Perhaps no. But it is a hell of a lot of fun. Houser makes BB King and Muddy Waters proud on “Somewhere South Of Memphis.” It starts with an uneven acoustic guitar about a place “where music isn’t about business” that explodes into a great bluesy guitar explosive riff. And the other huge highlight sees Houser stealing the playbook of his good friend Jamey Johnson, delivering a special steel guitar gem called “If I Could Buy Some Time.” It’s not as deep or dark as JJ’s That Lonesome Song, but it is as emotive and passionate.

This is one highly recommended album… go getcha’ a bite of this one.

Sounds Like:
Jamey Johnson

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
They Call Me Cadillac
Addicted
Will I Always Be This Way
Here With Me
Whistlin’ Dixie
Somewhere South of Memphis
If I Could Buy Some Time

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five