If you aren’t familiar with the name Jeffrey Steele, you definitely know the plethora of hits he’s written for some of country’s biggest stars including Tim McGraw‘s “The Cowboy In Me”, Rascal Flatts‘ “What Hurts the Most”, Keith Urban‘s “Raise ‘Em Up” and Montgomery Gentry‘s “Gone.” Writing since his days with 90’s country band Boy Howdy, Steele has penned a lot of songs over the past three decades, some of which never saw the light of day.
That is until now.
Much like a photographer who comes across an old unprocessed roll of film and reveals its priceless images upon development, Steele re-discovered several forgotten gems and decided to give them life as a tribute to the Palomino Club of North Hollywood, an old-school country hot spot in the late 80’s-early 90’s where Steele played bass guitar for Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance on Tuesday nights. He set forth on the creation of Sons of the Palomino, a retro-country super-group with Steele at the helm, supported by the legendary Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Larry Franklin (fiddle), Tony Harrell (pianist), James Mitchell (guitar), Brad Albin (bass) and Jerry Roe (drums). Equipped with his songs of the past, as well as new songs written with the days at the Palomino Club in mind, Steele chose 13 songs for SOTP’s debut album, and enlisted some famous friends to join in.
The album’s first single “Countryholic”, released on May 5 of this year, was a great way to introduce this project to the masses. Featuring Big & Rich’s John Rich, the fun up-tempo song embodies that honky-tonk character that country music has been missing for a while, and Rich brought his “swagger” not only to the track, but also to the live-shot music video.
John Anderson lends his legendary vocals on the witty “Authentic.” In what could be taken as a slight to the trends in country artists today, “Authentic” points out all of the genuine traits that Steele and Anderson are proud of (because let’s face it, can you get more authentic than Anderson?), most of which the majority of the country stars now lack:
I’m authentic, I’ve got nothing to prove
I’m authentic I’ve got noting to lose
Can’t package me up, there’s no selling me out
I’m authentic
I’m authentic, I ain’t tryin’ to be cool
I’m authentic, I just do what i do
I’m that one of a kind, getting harder to find
I’m authentic
Keep your wall street brand of a country man
I’m authentic
In the beautiful and heart-wrenching “Outta This Town,” Steele sings lead while supported by the angelic voice of Emmylou Harris‘, blending perfectly the only way she could. But Harris’ angelic voice turns haunting as the desperation, and dejection, comes through as the lyrics are sung:
Well the train left here but it never came back
Now there’s nothing but weeds on a rusty ol’ track
Those planes fly over but they never touch down
I ain’t ever gonna get outta this town
There’s a dream I’ve been dreaming all these years
Where I fly into the sun and disappear
The delicate stroke of the black and white keys in the intro of “Whiskey Years” instantly brings visions of a piano lounge. You can hear the soul in Steele’s voice, and there is a bit of a Billy Joel / Billy Vera feel to the song. But then as steel guitar sneaks in, and soon after the rugged, yet sensitive, vocals of Jamey Johnson, the scene is set for a soul searching country ballad about finally slowing down the party days and holding on to a love. But like most soul-searching country ballads, in the end they know its no use – But who am I trying to fool, I’m still going through my whiskey years.
The rockin’ and rowdy “Used to Be Country Town” has none other but Gretchen Wilson joining Steele, and there really couldn’t be better choice. Her vocals and ad libs are perfect, and you can’t miss that Redneck Woman sass that comes right through as they tell of how they used to paint a honky tonk town red on Friday nights, back when it was Country Town that is. (Another possible slight to how “country towns” have become less country?)
Other notable mentions include “Nobody Does Lonely Like You” featuring the one and only Vince Gill and his guitar skills. The melancholy ballad “When Lonely Calls” is quite the patchwork of sounds – there’s 80’s country, there’s 80’s hair band, there’s even some Michael Bolton when Steele belts out those long notes – but it works. The upbeat, catchy “Hole In the Wall” could easily have been recorded by Alan Jackson, or even make the cut onto Blake Shelton’s new record. Brooks & Dunn fans will recognize “Independent Trucker,” which was actually written by Steele and some guy name Chris Stapleton way back in 2004.
Overall this album is wonderful for not only those seeking that 80’s/90’s country void in their life, but also for lovers of music in general. Steele’s voice is like a chameleon, changing as frequently as needed depending on the different styles of the songs. The lyrics are wonderfully written, ranging from covering deep, difficult emotions to those that are fun and witty, and the instrumentation is, given the musicians involved, obviously a masterpiece.
Sons Of The Palomino Track-listing:
1. Running Around
2. Authentic – featuring John Anderson
3. When Lonely Calls
4. Countryholic – featuring John Rich
5. Outta This Town – featuring Emmylou Harris
6. Lie
7. Independent Trucker
8. Whiskey Years – featuring Jamey Johnson
9. Hole In the Wall
10. Unbroken People
11. Used To Be Country Town – featuring Gretchen Wilson
12. Nobody Does Lonely Like You – featuring Vince Gill
13. Old Roads & Lost Highways
For more information on the Sons of the Palomino, visit: www.sonsofthepalomino.com.
For more information Jeffrey Steele, visit: www.jeffreysteele.com.