Growing up as an only child, I became accustomed to getting what I want, when I wanted it. When Jason Boland & The Stragglers new album, The Bourbon Legend, was announced at the beginning of the year, my childhood tendencies rose up within me, and I’ve been literally counting the days until this album was mine. Thanks to an advance copy given to our magazine by Sustain Records, I now have the latest chapter in the legend that is; Jason Boland & The Stragglers.

About a year and a half ago, I heard Jason Boland for the first time. It was a cover of Merle Haggard’s “I think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink," done by Jason Boland alongside buddy Kevin Fowler. When Jason came in on the second verse, I immediately thought it was Waylon Jennings. The delivery and vocals were shaky, and yet at the same time, the smoothest and most soulful singer I had ever heard. Initially I didn’t even know who it was singing with Kevin Fowler, but I would soon find out. Over the course of the next few months, I would find out more about Jason Boland & The Stragglers, and with each album I bought, and each song I listened to, I became a bigger fan. Some artists are great singers, while others are great performers, or great songwriters. Jason Boland & The Stragglers have all of these components. It is Jason’s voice, the lyrics, the band, and the performance that make this artist a must see, and every album a must have.

I have been to ten JB&S shows this year. The first single, “No One Left To Blame," which is already at number fifteen on the Texas Music Charts, with the album not even released yet, has been played by Jason at his shows since early June. The first time I heard it live, the usually loud, sing-along crowd became noticeably silent, as every Straggler fan listened to every word, every riff, and every beat of the new song. In typical Jason Boland fashion, he introduces the song by stating, “This new album is gonna kick ass! It’s what country music should be. None of this Rascal Flats boy band bullsh*t. Although I do like that fat chick they have with em’…..You know, the lead singer!”

Jason could not be more right about this new album, which comes out on the band’s eight-year anniversary, Halloween Day, and unlike the music coming out of Nashville, The Bourbon Legend is all treat with no tricks.

“This is the record we have always wanted to make. It is the right record, at the right time," says Boland. The album is the band’s first with Sustain Records, an independent Texas-based record company distributed by Universal Music & Video Distribution. Jason Boland’s band is made up of Roger Ray (pedal steel, lead/rhythm guitar), Brad Rice (drums, backup vocals), Grant Tracy (bass guitar), and Noah Jeffries (banjo, mandolin, guitar). Some of the band’s biggest musical influences are the Marshall Tucker Band, Johnny Paycheck, and Merle Haggard.

With all the hype amongst JB&S fans around this new album over the past year, both at concerts, and on the web, I was a little worried about the album not living up to the build up. The fear became less and less however, as Jason Boland began playing more and more songs at venues that would be on the new album. Not only does this album meet any and all expectations I had, it’s the best album I’ve heard, by this group, or any other. If you miss the way country music used to sound, if you miss Waylon Jennings, and if you miss the steel guitar, you will fall in love with this album.

The first track on the album, called, “The Last Country Song,” sets the tone for the entire album, hinting that vintage country music has gone away, but will always be found in the voice of Jason Boland. From there you hear the title track, “The Bourbon Legend,” which is also being played at shows currently. As Jason sings, it’s apparent that this song could be an auto biography of his life that he has always been gracious enough to give his fans insight into, during his good times, and his struggles. “No One Left To Blame,” the first single out, follows, and is already becoming a known singalong at shows.

If there has been one thing lacking in previous Jason Boland & The Straggler albums, and Texas/Red Dirt music in general, it's love songs. The Bourbon Legend gives us 2 love songs, “Up and Gone,” and “Everyday Life.” Each of these songs is amazing both lyrically and vocally, and was a very nice surprise.

Don’t be fooled though, this album is anything but soft. It’s both vintage Jason Boland, and also the band’s best effort in my opinion. Boland is still an outlaw, still untamed, still not selling out to the sounds or lyrics on most of what is now considered “country” radio. This becomes reality in the song, “Can’t Tell If I Drink,” with the lyrics, “Can’t tell if I drink because she bitches, or she bitches because I drink.” Another track, called “Rattlesnakes,” hasn’t been played at shows yet, but something tells me this will be an anthem at concerts that JB&S fans will be begging for. It’s rough, its vintage, its Jason Boland pure and simple. To expand on the title, and the main lyrics, “rattlesnakes, painted ladies, and cocaine,” it’s a song that only the Stragglers could do, and one you can guarantee, won’t be played on the radio.

“Time in Hell,” is the next to last track on the album, and upon my first listen to Legend, was a song I hit repeat on about ten times right out of the gate. Any fan of any genre of music has a few songs that will always be a favorite, a song you could listen to over and over, for years and years. This one is one of a handful of songs for me. The song is about hoping for something good, because you’ve been thru so much hell in life. With lyrics like “So put me on the red-eye flight, and let me find the sun; I’m not the first, won’t be the last, and all it takes is one; just take me far from this place, where the Garden of Eden fell; cuz I’m bound to go to Heaven, I’ve done spent my time in hell”.

Any fan of great music, any fan of Jason Boland & The Stragglers, will fall in love with this album. Get the album, but more importantly, go see these guys live. They have so many songs now, that their fans insist on being played at every show, its now become an over 2 hour show, crammed with as many Straggler hits as you can count, and as always the band is very gracious about hanging out with their fans after every show. A very humble act, considering the following they have. Its great to know that some artists don’t let success change them, and we as fans are extremely lucky, to have The Bourbon Legend walking among us.

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