One Foot in the Honky Tonk

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One Foot in the Honky Tonk
One Foot in the Honky Tonk.jpg
Studio album by
Jason Ringenberg
Released1992
Genre Country, country rock
Label Liberty
Producer Jerry Crutchfield
Jason Ringenberg chronology
One Foot in the Honky Tonk
(1992)		A Pocketful of Soul
(2000)

One Foot in the Honky Tonk is the debut solo album by the American musician Jason Ringenberg (with both Ringenberg and his band credited as Jason), released in 1992. [1] [2] He supported it with a North American tour. [3] The album was a commercial failure. [4]

Contents

Production

Bob Dylan, on Jason & the Scorchers' final tour, had encouraged Jason to return to country music; he decided to heed the advice after a few years of working jobs outside the music industry. [5] One Foot in the Honky Tonk was produced by Jerry Crutchfield, who helped sign Jason and backed him with elite session musicians. [6] [5] Jason and Crutchfield chose the album's ten songs from a pool of around fifty. [7] Jason considered his sound to be "super-charged country rock"; fellow musicians considered it "western beat", a term for outsider country music. [8] Jason cowrote "Hardluck Boy" with Dan Baird. [9] The title track was cowritten with Kevin Welch. [10] "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water" is a cover of the song made famous by Johnny Rivers. [11] "Try Me" was cowritten by Billy Burnette and Steve Cropper. [12] "Letter of Love" and "Feels So Right" were written by Paul Kennerley. [13] [14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to Country Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Lincoln Journal Star A− [18]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [21]

The Gazette said that "Jason finds his true calling in straight, albeit raucous, country music." [22] USA Today noted that "his hybrid Buddy Holly-Jimmie Dale Gilmore vocals ... could gather a whole new audience." [21] The Chicago Tribune stated that Crutchfield "has come up with a clean sound that is noticeably minus the customary clutter of rock while retaining much of that form's instrumental excitement." [16]

The San Antonio Express-News said that the album "straddles the middle range, landing somewhere between the Kentucky Headhunters and 'White Lightnin''-era George Jones." [23] Rolling Stone noted that "the sound, disposition and attitude of his idiosyncratic voice were always as concentrated and sincere as any male honkytonker's... On his solo debut he slows down, settles back a bit and sings with a smooth yet personal Nashville focus." [11] The Lincoln Journal Star praised the "humor and edge" of the music. [18]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Life of the Party" 
2."One Foot in the Honky Tonk" 
3."Try Me" 
4."Letter of Love" 
5."Already Burned" 
6."Hardluck Boy" 
7."I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water" 
8."Feels So Right" 
9."Wild About Me" 
10."Devil's Daughter" 

References

  1. ↑ Hurst, Jack (April 9, 1992). "On the record". Chicago Tribune. p. 11G.
  2. ↑ Racine, Marty (May 24, 1992). "Jason is back/Scorchers slashed in favor of fresh band and sound". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 10.
  3. ↑ Kim, Jae-Ha (October 9, 1992). "Weekend Beat". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
  4. ↑ "Former 'Scorcher' finds solo success". The State Journal-Register. June 24, 2001. p. 48.
  5. 1 2 Crockett, Walter (October 11, 1992). "Jason heats it up, minus the Scorchers, at Gilrein's". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 9.
  6. ↑ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 41. October 10, 1995. p. 55.
  7. ↑ Stoute, Lenny (October 13, 1992). "New country music dreams". Toronto Star. p. B5.
  8. ↑ Rollins, Lisa L. (May 30, 1992). "Jason". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. E9.
  9. ↑ Robins, Wayne (May 16, 1992). "Rockers in the Right Niche". Part II. Newsday. p. 21.
  10. ↑ Schoemer, Karen (May 20, 1992). "Rock with Hillbilly Angst". The New York Times. p. C16.
  11. 1 2 Hunter, James (August 20, 1992). "One Foot in the Honky Tonk by Jason". Rolling Stone. No. 637. p. 52.
  12. ↑ Nager, Larry (June 12, 1992). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. E19.
  13. ↑ Rowe, Norman (June 26, 1992). "Country Music". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. J6.
  14. ↑ Reed, John (September 10, 1992). "Recordings". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 6.
  15. ↑ All Music Guide to Country. Miller Freeman. 1997. p. 229.
  16. 1 2 Hurst, Jack (June 25, 1992). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  17. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 31.
  18. 1 2 Wolgamott, L. Kent (June 2, 1992). "Records". Entertainment. Lincoln Journal Star. p. 5.
  19. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 596.
  20. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (May 31, 1992). "Country". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G10.
  21. 1 2 Zimmerman, David (June 30, 1992). "Musical hybrids push country boundaries". USA Today. p. 4D.
  22. ↑ Lepage, Mark (June 20, 1992). "Jason One Foot in the Honky Tonk". The Gazette. p. E2.
  23. ↑ Young, Ron (July 19, 1992). "Musicians' Western Beat gives new spin to country". San Antonio Express-News. p. J6.
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