I’m not sure the debate over nature versus nurture will ever get resolved, but there’s no doubt you absorb some of the culture of anywhere you live for an extended period of time. My proof point to that is the title track from Oakland’s Jill Rogers and her band Crying Time’s latest album, Many Worlds Theory. It’s a reference to the quantum mechanics notion that at any decision point in time, all outcomes are happening in parallel universes. That becomes the inspiration for a country song in pretty much nowhere but the technology-obsessed San Francisco Bay Area.
Overall, the record is comprised mostly of Roger’s vintage country sounding originals. The CD opens with Bird Song, a traditional country number where a bluebird outside the window portends a new future now that a relationship is dead. Golden Hour takes you on a two-step around the dance floor as it recalls those magic moments in the past that, well, weren’t as magical as maybe one remembers. California Waltz is a Topanga Canyon-country, twisted love letter evoking our natural disasters, with a giggle-inducing shout-out to Carol King (I Feel the Earth Move…). Rogers evokes the spirit of Johnny Cash in a sort of medley to multiple classics, entitled River Songs.
Although there’s a lot of California is the music, Rogers doesn’t restrict herself to the golden state. I Only Cry When I’m Drinkin’ is a mariachi polka take on a theme exploited by George Jones. (And it should be noted that one of the bands’ previous records was a tribute to Jones.) Evangeline is a solid square dance number where you know how things will end when Rogers sings, “she’s holding out while he’s holding on.” Devil in the Details is a western swing instrumental. The song I enjoyed the most is a remake of a Del McCoury tune, More Often Than Once in a While, with an elegantly restrained pace and beautiful harmonies.
Jill Rogers and Crying Time have been pounding the California sawdust dance floor circuit for over a decade and this is their 5th album. All that time together has melded them into the sort of family that can get into fierce arguments over the production details of a record and then go out and finish each others chord progressions on stage. Put that together with Roger’s old-school songwriting talent and Many Worlds Theory is a must-listen for country music fans.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.