Austinist Reviews Wayne Hancock’s Tulsa
Rumor has it that Wayne Hancock started writing songs in the 1970s, at the age of 12. And we’d tend to believe it; his lyrics have more in common with the dusty ballads of old-school outlaw country than they do the neutered, whitewashed sound of modern radio twang.
But Hancock’s got something that his darker, more serious counterparts generally lack: swing. And not the “let’s all buy zoot suits and drink martinis” kind of swing; rather, the kind of swing you’d expect to hear spilling out of a crowded country dance hall on a sweaty summer night. The kind of swing that might more appropriately be called stomp, but for some reason isn’t.
Tulsa is a throwback to the days when Country songs were slurred into dirty microphones by dope fiends, brawlers and ramblin’ men - when the lyrics used to be about lost love, lost money and lost time. But it’s apparent that Hancock doesn’t do retro for the sake of irony or credibility; it’s just who he is. In fact, he often spends as many as 200 days out on the road every year, living the life of a traveling troubadour, and bringing the stories he collects back to the studio.
Tulsa’s tracklist makes equal time for road songs and heartbreak. Though the first few tracks are heavy on the swing, the album settles into a slightly more straightforward sound in the second half. The only real problem with Tulsa is that it’s too consistent. If you’re dancing and drinking the night away, this record would make a great companion, but to just sit and listen to an hour of swingin’ country can get a bit tiresome if you‘re not in the right mood. Generally, though, the combination of horn hits and screaming slide guitar solos is tastefully done, and the music never feels like it’s trying to be something that it isn’t. It’s honest to goodness “hillbilly swing,” and it’s sure to please any country fan who likes a little dancing with their hard-luck tales.
