REVIEW 35 - CHARLIE COPE

Given that mainstream country music is a massive gargantuan and rejective conservative beast it's fair to say that Charlie Cope despite his brilliant top-notch stagecraft and ability as a songwriter and lyricist is on the periphery: that said, he shines brightly, incandescent, in the murky and blurred outer margins of alt-country. With a brilliant band in tow - THE OTHER GUYS - the traditional ingredients of country are still on show... a rich array of banjos, electric and acoustic and steel guitars (such as pedal steels and dobros) and fiddles too.

Genres of course are only a guide, a tool, but what we have here is definitely alternative and wildly beautifully. "WALLER COUNTY" is class!

https://open.spotify.com/track/7uGOsbfzLHneAIKZrujsok?si=fCdoOcMgQLmn3nyvRI7TRg

What I hear is Ryan Adam's Whiskeytown fronted by Lloyd Cole which is beyond an impressive and appealing blend. Sadly Nashville produces or should we say over-produces a lot of pop pap dross nowadays. Hailing from Dallas, Fortworth, Texas ~ Charlie Cope is a breath of fresh air ~ a gem, a story-teller, a thinker and lyricist, a true fantastic find. Of course it's a far cry from Dock Boggs and the European folk songs echoing around the Appalachian mountains but it's 2020 and times change. It is however nourished and deeply rooted and I find it fantastically inspiring and moving and thus equally as valid. Wonderful! Check it out! The back catalogue stands up too.

https://charliecopemusic.com/

@thecharliecope

https://images.app.goo.gl/gJa3x7xbYgsjjVdt7