I’ve heard several musicians state they don’t know what they would have done if they weren’t musicians. It’s all they’ve ever been any good at, or even really known how to do. I have no idea how Hayes Carll feels about that notion, but I’m pretty sure he could have been a standout comedian or political satirist. That wit and human insight is evident yet again on his soon-to-be released tenth album, We’re Only Human.
Maybe the best place to start describing the record is actually the last cut, May I Never. It features some of Carll’s friends each taking a turn with one of the verses, from Ray Wylie Hubbard to Darrell Scott to Shovels and Rope and others. It starts on a slightly melancholy note with Carll expressing his gratitude for having a home “where kindness is tended and mercy is shown.” Each verse builds on that, with the chorus taking on almost a gospel fervor. It’s the perfect bookend to the title track and opening cut, where he covers a litany of emotional and intellectual sins, of which we’re all guilty. In between those is a collection of introspective realizations and commentaries on society, set to his style of easy-going Americana.
Stay Here Awhile starts with a Band Of Heathens-style guitar, courtesy of co-producer and Heathen Gordy Quist. The song came about from a moment of reflection Carll had where he realized “I only started movin’ when I got still.” Progress of Man (Bitcoin & Cattle) is a country waltz featuring his signature wry commentary on the jerks and assholes winning some of life’s battles. What I Will Be is the most uptempo number with a solid country beat where he revels in the things that make him who he is. Good People (Thank Me) will touch fans of Randy Newman’s with its piano melody and ragtime-tinged horns and clarinet. I Got Away With It is a bluesy admission that “I stepped into the night and abandoned the mess I made.”
With today’s polarization of ideas and general decline in civility it would have been easy for Hayes Carll to point out the foibles of others. He’s fully aware that just feeds the fire, so per the saying, “physician heal thyself first,” he frames his lyrics in self-observation. That leaves you free to simply enjoy the music, or dig a little deeper and hear his pleas for a better world. Either way, We’re Only Human serves as a reminder why he’s one of the best songwriters of a generation.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.