“What kind of music do you usually have here? Oh, we have both kinds, country and western.” That line set the stage for arguably the best scene Hollywood ever did about honky tonk bars. Like all good parodies, there were some underlying truths that rang true even when injected with comedy. Brennen Leigh has taken those same underlying truths and turned them into a soundtrack for 60’s and 70’s Nashville. The album is called Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet and by the end of it you’ll be pulling up the calendar on your phone just to be sure.
The lead for that is the title track, a two-beat number perfect for two-stepping, and when Leigh sings about “one of those old familiar places where they pour the coldest beer you can get”, it makes you downright wistful for a frosty mug. The Bar Should Say Thanks is a similar number about a woman who brings the party with her. Carole With An E is a honky tonkin’, truck drivin’ gem with a modern spin to the story of leaving your spouse for your job. I’m Still Looking For You puts some lo-fi guitar in a tune about the lover you can’t forget, “like a scar or faded tattoo.”
That era of music wasn’t all rural American twang and plot lines. The country music record company honchos were busy trying to add culture, or style, or whatever they called it, and created the countrypolitan sound with a lot of increased production values. Leigh captures those classics as well on the album. Mississippi Rendezvous is a wistful ballad about a couple cheating on their spouses in a cheap Biloxi motel. The Red Flags You Were Waving could have been a Loretta Lynn song about letting desire overcome common sense, and probably advice from everyone around you. Somebody’s Drinking About You tells you all you need to know about a love-em-and-leave kind of guy.
Brennen Leigh’s website has quotes about her not from magazines and websites, but from Guy Clark, David Olney, and Rodney Crowell. Crowell sings backup on this album, Marty Stuart plays mandolin, and Chris Scruggs produces and plays guitar. For her last record, a western swing project, her backup band was Asleep At the Wheel. Brennen Leigh has bona fides. If you want to understand what all the fuss is about, take a listen to Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet. And be prepared to go back in time.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.