If he had done nothing but write honky-tonk standards like "Whiskey River," "Sound of A Heartache" and "When My Conscience Hurts the Most," Johnny Bush's place in the country music pantheon would be s...
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by CHIP 6/15/2007
The greatest HONKY TONK performer ever. Bar none
CHIP NALL
FOREVER COUNTRY BAND
by A Career Album of Bush's Career 3/31/2007
Though Bush's commercial flame was doused by an early-70s vocal problem, his reputation remained strong. Key compositions, including "Whiskey River" and "There Stands the Glass," helped sustain Bush's legacy during his performing absence, but his presence was felt even when his songs weren't on the charts. His place in Texas honky-tonk, something he took up in the late '50s, has been referenced and quoted ever since. ¶ Amazingly, after decades without a voice, new medical treatments have brought Bush back to the studio for this superb life retrospective. Recorded as an audio companion to an autobiography published by the University of Texas, the songs reflect on Bush's personal and musical lives, and the life of music in his native Houston. The sessions, recorded primarily at the legendary SugarHill Studio, pull together players and songs with a connection to the Bayou City, mixing new compositions with Houston linked classics. ¶ The fifteen tracks (fourteen listed, plus a bonus reworking of Mickey Gilley's 1956 rockabilly "Ooh Wee Baby," the original of which featured Bush on drums) are woven from several strong threads. Jesse Dayton and band (of nearby Beaumont) provide the backing for a pair of songs with a Mexicali edge: Dale Watson's "Tequila and Teardrops" (with Watson on harmony vocal) and a cover of "Pancho and Lefty" featuring a duet with one of Bush's earliest musical amigos, Willie Nelson. Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning" features great picking from guitarist Dayton and his steel player, Brian Thomas. ¶ A second musical thread is the brass of the Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra, swinging through "Free Soul" and a sophisticated arrangement of the classic "Born to Lose." Owens' trumpet solo introduces a scorching guitar lead from Dayton on "Free Soul," providing crossover between the two sessions. Bush dips further into Willie Nelson's catalog for one of the writer's earliest successes, "Family Bible," and the pair duet live (with Nelson's characteristic gut-string guitar as accompaniment) on "Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On." Bush also duets with Floyd Tillman (shortly before his passing in 2005) on the light western swing of "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven." ¶ This is a multidimensional project, knitting together newly produced recordings with a few earlier sessions, mixing new compositions like the superb title tune with country classics, and interspersing guest vocalists and backing bands. And just like a fine quilt, you can gaze upon the detail of a single patch, or step back and marvel at the beauty of the whole. This is a superb statement from a country legend whose artistic vision survived decades without a voice. [©2007 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]
 by Deric Shaw 8/8/2006
One can always count on Johnny Bush for some honky tonkin', crying, drinking, flat out, real country music. That's exactly what's on his new album Texas State of Mind. Where does he constantly find such great songs? It doesn't get much more country than this!!
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