Many religions, Christianity among them, have a common thread that life is hard, and short, and the reason to suffer through it is the afterlife. A lucky few learn to find and cherish the moments that offer a respite from the daily turmoil. Even those times are earned; they’re not a birthright. That kind of sums up the theme of the latest record from Erie, Pennsylvania’s Josh Travis. It’s his first full length album, called Few of Days & Full of Trouble, and it’s an auspicious project.
Like many of the songs, the first one, Secondhand Smoke, is a country ballad with tasty guitar and pedal steel licks. It’s a treatise on having to love what you have, not what you think you should have. The Only Good in Me looks at temptation where “everything I love, I love too much of it”. It pushes a little closer to southern rock than traditional country. Chains goes the other direction, with Travis’ vocals showing a hint of desperation at his personal failings, and more broadly the metaphorical chains of addiction. Poor Johnny gives a spaghetti western soundtrack treatment to a story of a Detroit autoworker who has to rob a bank to pay for his wife’s medical treatment.
Speaking of tearjerkers, if you’re inclined to shed them you need the tissues handy for Old Beat Up Paint. It’s the true story of an old horse taken in by Travis’ parents, but any animal lover anywhere will identify with the results when you give God’s creatures the care they deserve. On Opequon, there’s a bluegrass treatment given to the story of fishing trips with a beloved uncle. It’s a lighter kind of sad with an observation that sitting around the campfire at night fixes just about everything. My favorite song is Hot Week in August. It has perhaps the best summary I’ve ever heard of one of those instances when common sense was on vacation: “wasn’t my best day, wasn’t my worst, at least I could say nobody was hurt.”
By now you’ve figured out this isn’t a lighthearted record. There’s nothing that’s going to go on your Saturday night party playlist. Don’t let that put you off. Josh Travis has opened his soul and poured it out into song. The autobiographical nature of the album makes it heartwarming, not heartbreaking, and for that Few of Days & Full of Trouble is worthy of a good listen.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.