JUBAL LEE YOUNG
His Father's Son
I'm drinking as I write this and there is a reason. Jubal Lee Young's father, Steve Young, is one of my all-time favorite musicians and when I hear Jubal, I hear Steve and when I hear Steve, I want to drink. Not because his music makes me want to drink but because Steve put out album after album over a span of decades and never got the respect he is due. And, well, that plain pisses me off. Add to that the fact that Jubal's albums are, on the whole, being overlooked and I'm surprised I'm not out on the streets pitching rocks through record companies' windows. Nothing's changed. Steve got some shots but little expertise in marketing and little respect. Jubal is getting less.
I have to drink to write about these sonsabitches! I lived through every album and every frustration (from a fan's point of view) with Steve and Jubal is no different. You want proof there is no justice in the music biz? Here it is! Father and son, caught up in the same old music business bullshit that is resulting in the implosion of music as we know it. Wait. Not music--- the music business.
Steve's still out there cranking his tunes out like the troubadour he is, and he's as good as ever. Jubal--- well, he started young with a brash youth's attitude, wanting to play rock 'n roll, my friend, but he's learning. He's learning that you can't toss your heritage aside nor can you throw away your roots. He's learning that the music is the important thing and not how it's played or not played. He's learning that the old folks didn't have nothing--- that what they played is worth listening to even if it didn't seem like it during his rock 'n roll phase. Yeah, he's learning.
One thing he's learning is that his Dad may have not known what he was doing at times, but time has proven that what he did was worth knowing. Jubal included three Steve Young classics on his latest and best album (to-date) Take It Home--- one a Waylon tune covered by Steve on one of his albums (To Satisfy You), the other two penned by Steve. You want a young Steve Young? Listen to what Jubal does with Just To Satisfy You, Riding Down the Highway and Renegade Picker. You can't get closer than that except by listening to the originals recorded by Steve himself. Steve has to smile every time he hears those Jubal Lee songs. Man, that is respect!
Steve and Momma Terrye Newkirk (who has just released an album of her own--- the first recordings in decades) have to be proud. There is genetics going on here (or would that be 'There are”?) and you can hear it. The kid, no longer a kid, has the voice and the touch. You can hear it on every song he sings. The songs that he wrote. Don't You Dare Love Her--- a ballad that is a ballad only in a tavern or bar. Stark Raving Mad--- a love song for those really in love. Why Does It Always Rain--- a song so genetically passed along that it needs no explaining.
Jubal's packed this album with great songs. The guy has reached a pinnacle. I have no idea how this was produced or how it was pulled together, but damned if it isn't one of the best albums of this kind I've heard in years. I think what I mean to say is that if it was a Steve Young album, I'd be happy as hell. And I'll drink to that.
If nothing else comes out of this album, it is the knowledge that outlaw is a railroad. There was the Willie Nelson branch. There was the Waylon Jennings branch. There was the Tompall Glaser branch. And there was the Steve Young branch. Now there is the Jubal Lee Young branch. Outlaw is outlaw. This fits. I love it. Please quote me.
Frank O. Gutch Jr.
Supporting the Indies Since 1969
