I’m a sucker for a good story. Sure, there are plenty of great songs that aren’t much beyond a chant and a chord progression. But the ones that germinate in your mind to become a part of your worldview; they’re relatable in a way that goes all the way back Aesop. Someone who’s a master of that kind of storytelling is Nashville’s Tim Easton. Having been raised in Ohio and Japan, he made a living busking across Europe for years, spent another spell in the high desert of California, then relocated back to Nashville. All that, and more, provided content and inspiration for his just-released 14th album, fIREHORSE.
Let’s start with Cottonfields, probably the simplest arrangement on the record with not much besides Easton’s voice and acoustic guitar. Born out of the journey home from a 30A Songwriter festival down on the Redneck Riviera of Florida, it’s one of several songs that speak to life lessons picked up over the years. Similarly uncomplicated is Highway 62 Love Song. As the title indicates, it’s a love song to Joshua Tree and the area’s stark environment. When he notes “quiet was born up on highway 62”, a vividly real image forms in your mind even if you’ve never been there. Add in some electricity for the guitar and a slide, and you have the feel for Another Good Man Down. It’s a bluesy indictment of the long-term effects of cocaine, and the narco-terrorists who push it.
That fuzzy guitar also frames River. It has a swampy sound, injected with a bit of gospel in the background vocals. Although initially rooted in a rafting mishap, the tune takes on a bit of whimsy with some river riddles, shared with Easton’s daughter when she was young. Leaving the bayou sound and traveling inland gets you the gritty, dirty sound of 615 Heartbreaker. It’s not the kind of music you’d take home to momma, and neither is the song’s anti-hero subject. My favorite number is Never Punch the Clock Again. Invoking the musical ghost of Lowell George, this is a tale of a normal joe who was robbed on New Year’s. As he “spat on the front door and pissed on the gate” while leaving, our protagonist starts a drifter’s journey based on his new principle of staying away from a regular job.
Although the accepted truth may be that a picture is equal to a thousand words, Tim Easton can create an entire slideshow with just a couple of verses. The next time you’re tempted to curl up with an audiobook, boost your game and hit play on fIREHORSE instead.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.